LIBRARY 

UNTVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

DAVIS 


THE  MECHANIC 


THE 
MECHANIC 


BY   ALLAN    McIVOR 

Author  of  "  The  Overlord  " 


r|  NEW    YORK 

WILLIAM    RITCHIE 

70  FIFTH  AVENUE 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


Copyright   1906,  by  WILLIAM  RITCHIE 

New  York 
All  rights  reserved 


ENTERED  AT  STATIONERS  HALL,  LONDON 


The  Plimpton  Press  Norwood  Mass.  U.S.A. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  MR.  DOOBEY  LEAVES  A  TRAIL  OF  BLOOD     ....  7 

II.  DAVID  TRIES  BUSINESS 23 

III.  KING,  THE  GREAT  WALL  STREET  MANIPULATOR     .      .  29 

IV.  JOHN  DISCOVERS  THE  LOST  STEEL  PROCESS     ...  46 
V.  THE  FIGHT  WITH  THE  STEEL  TRUST 59 

VI.  JOHN  EXTENDS  HIS  INFLUENCE 69 

VII.  THE  DEATH  OF  DAVID 78 

VIII.  IN  MANY  COURTS 86 

IX.  LURGAN'S  DAUGHTER  CATHERINE 100 

X.  JOHN  WORTH  GIVES  AND  TAKES Ill 

XI.  THE  SURRENDER 122 

XII.  LURGAN  LOSES         130 

XIII.  THE  STEEL  DECISION          142 

XIV.  WILLIE  RADLEY  ASSISTS 152 

XV.  THE  RECONCILIATION 167 

XVI.  A  POOL  OF  WATER        179 

XVII.  THE  OIL  WAR  BEGINS 188 

XVIII.  THE  WINNING  OF  MIDLAND *00 

XIX.  NEIL  MANNERING  TAKES  A  HAND 207 

XX.  OIL  IN  MANY  MARKETS 215 

XXI.  FLAMES  OF  YELLOW  GOLD 226 

XXII.  WHAT  FOLLOWED  THE  FIRE 246 

XXIII.  FORMULA  1506 254 

XXIV.  TO-MORROW  AT  Six 265 

XXV.  ASHES  TO  ASHES 273 

XXVI.  CUPS  OF  GOLD         288 

v 


THE  MECHANIC 
CHAPTER  I 

MR.  DOOBEY  LEAVES  A  TRAIL  OF  BLOOD 

MRS.  WORTH,  looking  up  from  her  needlework 
with  a  bright  smile,  exclaimed: 

"He  is  fond  of  us  both,  and  I  verily  believe  he  is  the 
kindliest  person  that  breathes." 

The  smile  on  David's  face  deepened  at  this  statement, 
for  he  knew  his  twin  brother  —  knew  that  other  side  of 
him  which  could  be  as  hard  as  the  iron  he  fashioned  in 
his  shop.  But  David  was  certain  that  his  brother  would 
never  allow  this  frail  little  woman  to  see  the  side  which 
men  feared. 

Peter  and  David  Worth  were  born  in  New  York  and, 
at  the  age  of  sixteen,  had  begun  to  work  in  their  father's 
shop.  As  their  father  and  grandfather  had  both  been 
mechanics,  Peter  and  David  were  proud  of  the  calling 
that  seemed  so  firmly  associated  with  their  family.  Their 
skill  was  well  known.  If  a  fine  bit  of  model-making  was 
to  be  done,  it  was  always  taken  to  Worths'. 

When  their  father  died  they  continued  the  business 
and,  presently,  securing  a  contract  to  build  a  slot-machine 
in  numbers,  they  built  a  factory  near  Newark,  still  re 
taining  the  New  York  headquarters.  But  Peter  and 
David,  though  twins,  were  not  alike  in  coloring,  form, 

7 


8  The  Mechanic 

or  mental  equipment.  Peter  was  tall,  very  finely  propor 
tioned,  with  dark  eyes  and  hair.  David  was  blonde,  not 
quite  six  feet  in  height,  but  very  broad  and  powerful. 

One  night,  at  a  dance,  they  both  met  and  fell  in  love 
with  Rennie  Terrwhitt,  the  daughter  of  a  minister  whose 
life  was  devoted  to  the  uplifting  of  the  floating  wrecks  of 
the  East  side.  Six  months  afterward  she  and  Peter  Worth 
were  married. 

David  had  said  to  his  brother,  "  Give  me  a  year,  Peter, 
to  get  over  it,  and  there's  my  hand.  I  am  not  so  good  a 
mate  for  blue  eyes  as  you,  and  I  have  an  idea,  based  on 
many  nights  of  wakefulness,  that  she  doesn't  know  of 
my  love.  She  sees  no  one  but  you,  and  —  well,  luck  to 
you  both.  I  told  her  to-night,  when  she  asked  me  why 
I  was  so  sad,  that  the  awful  harbor  wreck  had  carried  off 
a  little  girl  I  was  fond  of,  and  she  cried  for  me.  Peter, 
you  are  a  fortunate  devil  to  get  that  girl." 

"That  is  so,  David,  and  I  will  help  along  the  wreck 
story,  as,  of  course,  we  want  to  see  you  in  Jersey." 

But  it  was  only  after  a  child  was  born,  which  was  called 
John  after  his  grandfather,  that  David  paid  the  wedded 
pair  other  than  a  flying  visit  to  the  Jersey  home.  Occa 
sionally  he  would  go  over  to  the  shop,  but  not  often. 
When  John  was  able  to  prattle,  David  spent  his  week-ends 
with  his  brother  and  sister,  and  he  grew  to  love  the  little 
boy  as  though  he  were  his  own.  It  was  time,  too,  that 
love  should  come  to  David,  for  his  life  on  the  East  side 
where  he  was  a  favorite,  was  neither  temperate  nor  moral, 
but  his  nature  was  curiously  direct  and  he  had  never  met 
any  one  who  could  drive  Rennie  from  his  heart. 

In  the  Jersey  shop,  Peter,  also,  made  fine  steel  for 
dynamos  and  other  work  that  required  the  best  grade  of 
metal.  David  sent  to  the  larger  shop  all  the  big  contracts 


Mr.  Doobey  Leaves  a  Trail  of  Blood        9 

he  was  able  to  secure  and,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
Peter  earned  the  more  money,  both  shops  belonged  in 
equal  shares  to  the  brothers,  and  the  marriage  did  not 
bring  about  a  change  in  their  relation  as  brothers  and 
bosom  friends.  During  the  long  evenings  before  his 
marriage  Peter  had  read  law,  and  it  was  to  this  that 
David  attributed  his  brother's  grasp  of  affairs. 

When  Pittsburg  Steel  made  a  proposition  to  Peter  to 
join  its  ranks,  he  refused,  and  when  its  magnates  threat 
ened,  he  smiled.  The  Steel  people  did  not  wish  to  annex 
his  small  shop,  but  they  wanted  the  man  who  knew  how 
to  make  the  kind  of  steel  that  had  heretofore  come  only 
from  England  and  Germany.  There  was  also  another 
reason  for  their  desire  to  attach  Peter  Worth  to  their  large 
establishment;  they  had  heard  that  he  could  make  steel 
in  a  simple  way,  direct  from  the  iron  stone.  And  as  this 
rumor  reached  them  anew  from  time  to  time,  they  became 
more  eager  to  secure  Worth,  who  would  not  move  from 
his  small  shop  and  would  not  sell  it  or  any  part  thereof. 
For  a  while  they  thought  of  taking  strong  measures  to 
close  the  shop,  but  something  in  Peter's  iron  face  pre 
vented  them,  and  David,  who  had  very  little  education, 
felt  that  it  was  Peter's  knowledge  of  the  law  that  made 
him  so  formidable.  The  fact  that  Peter  was  his  twin 
brother  always  kept  him  from  thinking  that  Peter  pos 
sessed  brains  of  a  different  quality.  He  was  not  in  the 
least  envious  as  to  his  own  status  in  the  business.  On 
the  contrary,  he  was  proud  of  Peter  and  boasted  of  his 
skill  to  friends  in  Center  Street. 

"Yes,  he  threw  the  Pittsburg  Steel  people  down  hard, 
and  when  it  comes  to  making  a  man  take  a  large  tumble, 
my  brother  is  very  much  on  the  spot.  I  tell  you,  fellows, 
it's  his  education.  He  used  to  read  law  and  science  o' 


10  The  Mechanic 

nights  whilst  I  read  the  lights  in  pretty  eyes.  I  had  my 
fun  and  now  he  is  having  his.  I  can  make  models  all 
right,  but  I  can't  do  the  other  contracting  stunts.  I  say 
again,  it's  education.  If  I  had  read  law  there  would  be 
two  of  us.  See!" 

Nobody  smiled  when  he  said  this,  because  David  could 
grow  cross,  and  it  was  the  opinion  of  the  East  side,  to  a 
man,  that  his  strength  could  not  be  matched  in  the  city. 
His  acquaintances  also  knew  that  he  was  not  quarrelsome 
in  the  least,  yet  he  delighted  in  a  trial  of  strength  man  to 
man. 

On  Saturdays  David  always  carried  some  little  gift  for 
John.  Once  he  heard  of  a  litter  of  thoroughbred  bull 
pups  and  he  presented  one  of  these  to  the  boy,  and 
the  dog  became  John's  most  valued  possession.  They 
had  terrible  fights,  but  in  the  main,  Mr.  Doobey,  the  dog, 
and  John  were  friendly;  at  any  rate  they  were  hardly 
ever  separated.  Mr.  Doobey  would  walk  with  John  to 
school  every  morning.  At  noon  he  was  always  there  to 
accompany  his  master  home.  At  first  John's  mother  was 
a  bit  afraid  that  the  dog  would  bite  her  boy,  but  the  dog 
never  even  broke  skin  on  John's  legs  or  arms.  This  was 
apparently  odd,  because  when  Mr.  Doobey  and  John 
fought,  which  was  very  often,  they  would  attack  each 
other  with  great  fierceness,  but  their  rows  were  all  a  part 
of  a  game  they  played  every  day.  Sometimes  John  and 
Mr.  Doobey  would  have  a  dispute  on  the  way  to  school, 
and  then  perhaps  they  would  not  speak  to  each  other  foi 
the  rest  of  the  day;  but  no  matter  how  much  friendly 
relations  were  strained,  Mr.  Doobey  was  always  on  hand 
when  John  left  school.  If  the  day  were  fine,  they  gener 
ally  walked  home. 

First  there  was  a  river  to  cross,  and  then  they  passed 


Mr.  Doobey  Leaves  a  Trail  of  Blood       11 

through  a  small  settlement  of  foreigners  who  worked 
at  all  kinds  of  jobs.  After  this  squalid  piece  they  were 
in  open  country  with  the  factory  in  sight,  though  it  dis 
appeared  when  they  came  to  the  crossroads,  from  which 
a  short  climb  through  a  field  brought  them  home.  The 
foreign  settlement  was  an  object  of  suspicion,  on  account 
of  a  number  of  highway  robberies  which  had  been  com 
mitted  in  its  vicinity. 

When  Uncle  David  hecard  of  this  lawlessness  he  patted 
Mr.  Doobey  on  the  head  and  said,  "If  they  ever  molest 
John,  old  chap,  my  money  is  on  you."  That  very  day 
John's  mother  had  said  to  David,  "  Peter  and  Mr.  Doobey 
are  the  two  best  natured  people  in  the  world."  It  will  be 
seen  by  this  statement  that  Mrs.  Worth  considered  Mr. 
Doobey  human,  and  so  he  was  in  point  of  intelligence. 

In  rainy  weather,  John  was  taken  to  school  in  a  covered 
runabout,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Doobey,  of  course. 
Neither  Mr.  Doobey  nor  John  liked  driving  to  school, 
even  though  Jolly  Roger,  their  horse,  was  a  fine  one,  for 
they  missed  the  little  foreign  children  to  whom  John 
always  stopped  to  speak.  He  called  the  bewhiskered  men 
of  the  foreign  settlement  goblins,  and  they,  too,  amused 
him.  Some  boys  would  have  given  this  street  of  shabby 
houses  and  rough  characters  a  wide  berth,  but  neither  Mr. 
Doobey  nor  John  had  learned  the  meaning  of  fear. 

Every  Saturday  Peter  Worth,  on  his  way  from  the 
bank,  either  walked  or  drove  through  this  section,  and 
though  several  of  the  foreigners  knew  that  he  had  in 
his  pockets  a  large  amount  of  money  to  pay  his  work 
men,  they  did  not  molest  him,  though  they  hungered  to 
do  so.  It  was  neither  affection,  nor  the  fact  that  he  was 
a  neighbor,  that  kept  their  hands  out  of  his  pockets.  It 
was  rather  a  force  they  could  feel  but  not  see.  It  was 


12  The  Mechanic 

the  same  indefinable  something  that  had  prevented  the 
Steel  folks  from  declaring  war  on  Peter  when  he  finally 
refused  to  have  any  connection  with  them. 

The  bandits  sensed  this  unseen  power,  and  though  they 
went  four  or  five  times  to  the  crossroads  to  intercept 
Peter,  each  time,  after  looking  at  their  revolvers,  they  had 
decided  not  to  attempt  to  rob  him  that  day;  yet,  after 
Peter  had  passed  along  his  road  and  was  lost  to  view, 
taking  with  him  that  unknown  quality  which  makes 
man  fear  man,  they  realized  that  they  had  been  afraid. 
Still  they  had  not  failed  at  other  times;  they  had 
raised  their  revolvers  and  their  victim  had  responded 
promptly  and  easily.  But  they  all  felt  that  with  Peter 
they  would  have  to  go  a  great  deal  farther  than  the 
cocked  gun,  and  when  they  thought  of  what  might  lie  be 
yond  their  command  of  "hands  up,"  they  shivered. 

Returning  from  school  one  day,  John  was  stopped  by 
one  of  the  goblins,  who  said  to  him  with  a  laugh,  "  I'll 
fight  you."  Indeed  the  foreigner  squared  up  as  if  to 
fight  and,  moving  his  hand  quickly,  he  tapped  John  on 
the  cheek.  It  was  not  the  intention  of  the  goblin  to  do 
anything  more  than  play,  and  he  did  not  know  that  John 
never  fought  outside  of  his  home,  and  then  only  with  very 
particular  friends  such  as  Daddie,  Uncle  David,  or  Mr. 
Doobey.  For  reasons  of  his  own  he  wished  to  be  ac 
quainted  with  John  and  he  took  this  way  of  accomplish 
ing  it.  But  the  interview,  if  such  we  may  call  it,  was  ter 
minated  suddenly  by  Mr.  Doobey,  for,  with  a  low,  tense 
growl,  he  sprang  at  the  foreigner,  who  very  quickly  jumped 
a  low  fence  in  front  of  his  house.  When  he  was  safe 
from  the  dog,  he  pulled  from  his  clothes  an  ugly  looking 
knife,  but  Mr.  Doobey  could  not  follow  through  the 
board  fence,  and  was  consequently  safe  from  the  knife. 


Mr.  Doobey  Leaves  a  Trail  of  Blood       13 

John,  in  the  meantime,  was  looking  at  Mr.  Doobey 
with  a  surprised  stare  on  his  face,  as  he  had  never  seen 
his  friend  vexed  before. 

Turning  to  the  goblin,  John  said,  "  Gee !  he  very  near 
eat  you  all  up." 

The  foreigner,  now  over  his  fright,  answered  with  an 
ugly  leer  on  his  face,  "  He  is  wicked,  but  this  "  —  patting 
his  knife  —  "  will  take  care  of  him." 

Thereupon  John  continued  his  way  home,  and  when 
he  passed  beyond  the  land  of  the  goblins,  he  said  to  Mr. 
Doobey,  "  You  shockingly  jealous  person,  but  me  forgive 
you  if  you  don't  say  anything  to  Daddums  about  that  long 
knife  —  Gee  whiz,  Mr.  Doobey,  but  Daddy  sure  would 
get  cross  if  he  knew  that!"  And  the  dog  looked  up  at 
his  master,  whom  he  loved  beyond  all  things,  and  said 
with  a  look,  "  I  won't  tell." 

Surely,  he  must  have  said  something  like  that,  because 
John  patted  his  head  and  exclaimed,  "That's  right;  now 
me  tell  you  tory,  Mr.  Doobey,  so  that  you'll  understand 
why  me  not  want  Daddie  to  know  anythings.  Listening  ?  " 
John  looked  and  saw  Mr.  Doobey  wag  his  short  tail,  a 
signal  that  he  was  all  attention.  So  the  boy  went  on  in 
his  peculiar  kind  of  baby  talk  to  the  gratification  of  Mr. 
Doobey,  who  expressed  his  approval  of  the  narrative  by 
sharp  barks  and  joyful  skips  about  his  master. 

By  this  time  John  and  Mr.  Doobey  had  arrived  at  the 
field  where  they  saw  Jolly  Roger  who  came  running 
toward  them.  They  then  formed  a  procession  and,  going 
zig-zag,  made  for  home,  John  singing  "Clementine." 
When  John  stopped  and  held  his  body  rigid,  the  horse 
would  push  him  on. 

David,  who  saw  this  game  for  the  first  time  that  day, 
was  amazed.  Said  he  to  his  brother,  "How  on  earth 


14  The  Mechanic 

does  he  do  it  ? "  And  Peter  replied  with  a  laugh,  "  I 
can't  tell  you;  but  if  you  can  define  magnetism  you'll 
arrive  at  John's  power.  He  is  a  wonderful  little  fellow 
and  as  happy  as  the  day  is  long.  You  see,  David,  we 
belong  to  a  very  old  family.  We  can  trace  it  back  to  the 
very  earliest  days  of  master  builders  on  the  Clyde,  and, 
as  you  know,  our  family  has  been  in  Manhattan  for  more 
than  two  hundred  years.  On  the  other  hand,  Rennie 
belongs  to  an  ancient  race  of  gentlefolk.  Two  great 
extremes,  then,  meet  in  John ;  perhaps  that  is  what  we  see 
and  can't  define.  But  coming  to  the  boy's  attainments, 
he  takes  figures  at  a  glance;  it  is  not  possible  to  stick  him 
on  single  fractions,  though  he  is  only  eight.  Here  is  a 
match-safe  he  made  for  me.  At  any  rate  he  inherits  the 
family  calling  —  wouldn't  it  bother  you  to  do  a  better 
job  than  this  ?  Now,  this  little  thing  is  only  one  of  many 
of  his  inventions.  As  you  know,  he  has  his  own  anvil  in 
the  shop  and  he  amazes  the  men  there.  They  call  him 
the  little  genius.  The  baby  language  you  hear  occasion 
ally  is  a  perennial  delight  to  me,  and  is  only  used  at  home. 
In  school  he  speaks  precise  English.  David,  I  am  going 
to  see  my  boy  educated  for  all  the  word  education  means ; 
first  in  the  public  schools  and  then  in  law  and  science  at 
Columbia." 

Later  that  night,  when  Peter  and  John  were  alone, 
David  said,  "I  think  Rennie  is  getting  stronger;  she  looks 
much  better  and  has  more  color." 

"  Do  you  think  so  ?  "  Peter  replied  with  delight. 

"I  certainly  do.  How  well  she  played  and  sang  this 
evening.  I  tell  you,  Peter,  she's  had  an  education  if  you 
like.  Say,  Peter,  how  are  you  getting  along  with  the 
steel  process  ?  " 

"  By  next  Saturday  I  may  be  able  to  tell  you  something 


Mr.  Doobey  Leaves  a  Trail  of  Blood       15 

definite.  You  see  I  have  a  process  now,  but  I  want  to 
be  sure  that  it  is  basic — fundamental,  else  the  other  fellows 
might  get  ahead  of  me." 

And  Peter  knowing  that  David  was  not  up  on  the  subject, 
added :  "  Every  steel  mill  possesses  its  own  way  of  making 
steel,  but  all  their  ways  take  about  three  weeks  from  the 
time  the  pig-iron  is  delivered.  By  means  of  my  process 
I  can  do  the  same  work  in  one  day  and  of  course  at  very 
much  smaller  cost.  Now,  this  is  important.  I  can  make 
steel  without  the  use  of  coke  as  fuel.  This  means  that 
iron  and  steel  eventually  will  be  made  at  the  iron  stone 
mines.  You  see  what  a  saving  this  will  be  in  transporta 
tion  alone.  Hodges  is  very  anxious  for  us  to  join  his 
father's  company  before  the  trust  is  formed.  He  is 
clever  and,  I  hear,  unscrupulous.  He  would  like  to  get 
my  process  so  that  he  could  ask  a  big  price  for  his  com 
pany  if  the  trust  were  formed.  It  would  be  a  great  thing 
for  him  to  say,  *I  have  a  new  process  for  making  steel  at 
one  melting,'  and  then  in  his  inventory  add  a  few  millions 
for  this  item.  But  I  am  also  alive  to  the  trust  movement, 
and  I  purpose  getting  in  it,  too.  We  haven't  much  of  a 
shop ;  it  is  not  worth  taking  in  as  such,  but  the  trust  people 
will  be  glad  to  incorporate  us  if  we  have  a  good  process. 
Well,  David,  I  see  a  few  millions  ahead  for  both  of  us, 
especially  if  I  can  get  a  patent,  as  I  think  I  can." 

About  that  time  two  others  in  Newark  were  talking 
about  Peter  Worth's  process.  These  two  were  Thomas 
Hodges  and  a  mechanic  who  worked  in  Worth's  shop. 

Hodges  said,  "You  haven't  been  able  to  get  into  his 
foundry  ?  " 

"I  have  tried,  but  failed.  I  make  excuses  to  talk  to 
Worth  in  his  office,  but  when  I  am  admitted,  the  foundry 
door  is  closed.  As  I  have  stated,  it  is  only  possible  to  get 


16  The  Mechanic 

into  his  foundry  in  the  daytime  or  when  the  shop  is  open. 
That  part  has  no  windows  and  its  roof  is  covered  by 
steel  beams  too  close  together  to  permit  of  an  entry. 
I'm  sorry  that  I  have  failed "  —  and  the  spy  looked  at 
Hodges,  who  was  smoking,  and  added,  4<I  hope  you  don't 
blame  me." 

Hodges  walked  up  and  down  the  small  room  with  a 
baffled  look  on  his  face.  He  had  tried  to  buy  out  Worth, 
but  was  unsuccessful,  and  then  he  made  one  of  his  best 
men  apply  for  a  job  with  the  hope  of  stealing  Worth's 
scheme,  and  here  again  was  failure. 

Finally  he  said,  "I  must  have  that  process,  Bill,  by 
fair  means  or  foul.  It's  the  biggest  thing  I  ever  heard  of, 
and  it  would  make  me  master  of  the  whole  situation  so 
far  as  steel  goes.  Can't  you  think  of  a  plan  to  get  me 
into  that  damned  foundry  for  three  minutes  ?  That  is  all 
I  ask.  Just  one  look  at  the  crucible  that  turns  iron  into 
steel." 

Then,  becoming  excited,  Tom  Hodges  exclaimed,  "  By 
God  —  I  must  have  his  scheme." 

The  spy  answered,  "  Will  you  make  my  check  twenty- 
five  thousand  dollars  if  I  succeed  in  getting  you  inside  ?  " 

" I  will,"  Hodges  cried  quickly.   "What  is  your  plan  ? " 

"Listen!" 

Hodges  sat  down. 

"Worth  has  a  little  boy  called  John  of  whom  he  is 
very  fond,  with  more  than  the  usual  affection  of  a  father 
for  a  son.  Label  that  in  your  mind  and  remember  it. 
Between  Worth's  property  and  the  bridge  there  lives  a 
gang  of  foreigners,  and  I  happen  to  know  that  four  of 
them  are  engaged  in  highway  robbery,  and,  moreover, 
I  am  acquainted  with  the  leader  of  this  band.  But  let 
us  go  back  to  the  boy.  He  walks  through  the  settlement 


Mr.  Doobey  Leaves  a  Trail  of  Blood       17 

every  day  about  half-past  three,  and  from  the  other  side 
of  the  main  road  he  stops  and  waves  his  handkerchief. 
This  is  a  signal  to  his  father  who,  hi  turn,  waves  from  his 
office  window.  Then  the  boy  walks  down  a  slight  incline 
to  the  road  where  he  cannot  be  seen,  passes  up  from  the 
road  to  the  level  of  his  father's  property,  and  usually 
comes  to  the  shop.  Now,  here  is  my  plan.  Hire  the 
foreigners  to  grab  the  boy  after  he  gets  his  father's  signal, 
and  carry  him  to  the  road  and  hold  him  there  for  two 
minutes.  And  if  you  will  be  close  to  the  factory  when 
the  foreigners  seize  little  John,  you  will  gam  at  least 
fifteen  minutes  in  the  foundry,  as,  of  course,  when  Peter 
Worth  sees  his  boy  roughly  handled,  he  will  jump  through 
the  window  and  start  to  his  aid.  That's  as  sure  as  we 
both  live,  and  may  God  have  pity  on  the  foreigners,  for 
Worth  won't." 

Hodges  thought  the  scheme  over  for  a  moment  and 
said,  "  It  looks  simple.  But  will  the  foreigners  do  it  ?  " 

"Yes;  for  a  thousand  plunks  they  would  carry  the  boy 
off  for  as  long  a  time  as  you  like." 

"Why  wouldn't  that  be  a  better  plan?"  cried  Hodges. 
"  It  would  give  me  more  time.  But  what  about  the  other 
mechanics  in  the  shop  ?  " 

"I  don't  see  how  they  will  know,  because  their  light 
comes  from  another  direction,  so  they  won't  see  anything, 
even  if  Worth  should  walk  through  the  door.  And  don't 
forget  that  his  office  has  a  separate  entrance  from  the 
road." 

"How  soon  could  you  see  the  leader  of  these  for 
eigners  ?  " 

"  As  it's  early,  I  could  see  them  to-night  and  arrange  the 
scheme  for  to-morrow." 

Capable  Tom  Hodges  said,  "  Go  ahead;  here  is  a  thou- 


18  The  Mechanic 

sand.  Give  them  five  hundred  dollars  if  they  agree,  and 
another  five  hundred  dollars  payable  on  success.  I  leave 
it  all  to  you." 

These  worthies  then  took  a  drink,  Hodges  saying,  "  I 
hope  it  will  work,  but  what  sort  of  a  fellow  is  David 
Worth  ?  I  met  him  once  or  twice,  but  never  heard  him 
talk." 

"  Oh,  he's  a  clever  modeler,  but  not  so  good,  I  hear, 
at  figures.  His  brother  makes  all  their  estimates." 

On  his  return  from  school,  Monday,  John  met  his 
goblin  and  three  others  at  the  crossroads  and  was  in 
vited  to  go  for  a  drive.  He  courteously  declined,  saying 
that  he  saw  his  father  waving  to  him  from  the  factory. 
As  he  made  an  effort  to  pass  the  men,  one  of  them  seized 
him  and  slapped  a  sponge  to  his  nostrils.  When  he  was 
quieted  they  lifted  him  into  a  closed  wagon.  Had  John 
been  conscious  he  would  have  heard  screams  and  curses, 
for,  when  Mr.  Doobey  saw  what  was  being  done,  he 
gripped  the  leg  of  one  of  the  bandits  and  sank  his  teeth 
into  the  live  bone.  At  last,  in  desperation,  the  dog's 
throat  was  cut  with  a  knife,  and  the  frightened  kid 
nappers  hurriedly  departed  with  the  boy.  The  bandits 
merely  wanted  to  get  the  thousand  dollars,  and  in  order 
to  secure  this  amount  they  purposed  to  take  him  well 
into  the  country,  but  near  enough  to  civilization  so  that 
by  telephone  they  could  arrange  for  his  return.  It  would 
have  been  much  better  in  every  way  if  this  scheme  had  been 
carried  out  as  planned,  but  unfortunately  John's  father 
had  received  a  telephone  message  from  the  Ampere 
Electrical  works  asking  him  to  come  over  that  afternoon 
on  urgent  business,  and,  as  the  distance  was  six  miles, 
Worth  thought  he  would  drive.  Just  as  he  was  wait 
ing  for  his  son,  he  saw  the  foreigners  seize  him.  Quickly 


Mr.  Doobey  Leaves  a  Trail  of  Blood       19 

taking  a  rifle  from  the  wall,  he  jumped  into  the  run 
about  and  drove  at  a  run  to  the  place  where  he  had  last 
seen  John. 

Then  it  was  that  Hodges,  full  of  suppressed  excitement, 
seeing  Worth  fall  into  his  trap,  hurried  to  the  office, 
but  just  as  he  was  about  to  swing  open  the  iron  door 
which  led  to  the  foundry,  David  Worth  entered  the  room 
and  cried,  "Hold  there!" 

Hodges  turned  guiltily,  and  with  a  few  quick  strides 
David  was  beside  him,  saying,  "  What  business  have  you 
in  there  ?  Going  to  steal  what  you  can't  buy,  eh  ?  " 

Hodges  replied,  "  I  am  looking  for  your  brother,  and  as 
he  isn't  here,  I  suppose  he  is  in  there,"  pointing  to  the  iron 
door.  "  Now  that  I  have  explained,  it  gives  me  pleasure 
to  tell  you  to  —  to  go  to  hell." 

To  Hodges  that  was  the  approved  way  of  handling 
men  of  David's  class,  and,  besides,  he  was  very  wrathful 
at  his  detection  and  failure.  He  looked  toward  the  office 
door  once  or  twice  to  see  if  any  one  were  going  to  follow 
David  in,  and  then,  as  he  was  sure  they  were  alone,  he 
thought  he  saw  another  chance  of  viewing  the  fittings 
of  the  mysterious  laboratory.  But  if  Hodges  had  only 
taken  a  walk  on  the  East  side  of  Manhattan  in  quest  of 
information  about  David,  he  would  not,  perhaps,  have 
spoken  so  roughly  to  him.  Hodges,  however,  had  not  as 
yet  passed  much  time  in  New  York.  He  had  been  brought 
up  in  Pittsburg  in  his  father's  steel  mill,  and  there  he  had 
adopted  his  way  of  handling  working  men  and  others, 
and  this  way  was  that  of  a  bully.  He  was  very  large  and 
strong,  and  possessed  neither  pity  nor  morals;  success 
came  to  him  so  easily  that  perhaps  it  is  not  strange 
that  he  was  vain.  At  any  rate  he  held  himself  in  very 
high  esteem,  and  his  happiest  thought,  when  he  was 


20  The  Mechanic 

thinking  of  himself,  was  of  his  great  physical  strength. 
As  he  gave  expression  to  this  thought  very  often  and  his 
friends  repeated  it,  he  was  known  as  "Strong  Tom"  in 
Pittsburg  and  the  oil  regions. 

Hodges  therefore  prepared  himself  to  thrash  David, 
not  knowing  that  he  was  making  physical  war  on  the 
strongest  man  on  the  East  side,  and  one  of  the  cleverest 
boxers  that  ever  wore  gloves.  But  he  discovered  these 
facts  about  David  in  a  few  moments,  and  then  lost  all 
knowledge  of  things  until  he  regained  consciousness  in  a 
wagon  which  was  taking  him  to  a  hospital.  If  David 
had  only  known  then  of  what  he  afterwards  felt  to  be 
more  than  a  coincidence,  Hodges  would  never  have  left 
the  shop  alive.  After  David  had  beaten  Hodges,  he  locked 
the  iron  door,  wondering  what  had  caused  his  brother  to 
drive  away  from  the  shop  at  so  furious  a  rate. 

He  would  have  wondered  more  if  he  had  seen  his 
brother's  look  of  surprise  when  he  reached  the  main 
road,  for  Peter  Worth  fully  expected  to  see  his  son  and 
the  foreigners  there.  Peter  did  not  know  that  they  had 
been  supplied  with  a  pair  of  fast  horses  and  were  at  that 
moment  half  a  mile  away.  In  his  agony  he  called  out, 
ft  John,  John ! "  but  no  answer  came.  Then  he  found 
John's  little  glove  on  the  road  and,  seeing  a  clot  of  earth 
held  together  by  some  wet  substance,  he  sprang  out  of 
the  buggy,  put  his  finger  in  the  clot  and  wiped  it  on  his 
sleeve.  What  he  saw  made  him  reel. 

In  a  hoarse  whisper,  he  gasped  "  Blood ! " 

As  he  walked  up  the  road  a  short  distance,  the  clots 
became  more  frequent  and  pronounced. 

Peter  sprang  into  his  buggy  and  followed  the  drops  on 
the  road.  His  horse,  a  roadster,  was  going  at  a  pace 
which  he  could  hold  for  an  hour.  When  Peter  bought 


Mr.  Doobey  Leaves  a  Trail  of  Blood       21 

Roger,  as  he  was  then  called,  the  dealer  had  told  him  that 
the  horse  could  do  twenty  miles  in  an  hour,  and  now  the 
animal  was  straining  at  his  best.  His  driver,  though 
blinded  with  rage  and  growing  fear,  knew  how  important 
it  was  to  nurse  him  for  a  long  race.  He  had  covered 
about  twelve  miles  when,  upon  coming  to  a  hilltop,  he 
noticed,  about  a  mile  ahead,  a  pair  of  horses  that  were 
being  urged  on.  Then  Peter  called  on  his  own  horse  and 
soon  he  was  within  hailing  distance.  Noting  the  way  in 
which  the  horses  were  being  pressed,  Worth  felt  sure  that 
his  boy  was  before  him,  so  he  shouted  for  the  party  to 
halt.  As  if  in  answer,  something  struck  him  in  the  chest. 
At  first  he  felt  as  if  a  brick  had  hit  him,  but  he  soon 
realized  that  it  was  a  bullet.  He  felt  no  pain,  and  only  a 
slight  weakness  followed.  Raising  his  rule  he  shot  one 
of  the  horses  as  they  rounded  a  bend  of  the  road,  and 
then  three  men  jumped  out  of  the  closed  wagon  and 
began  using  their  revolvers. 

Jolly  Roger,  beloved  of  little  John,  fell  to  the  ground, 
shot  through  the  heart.  Peter  fired  three  shots  and  then 
ran  to  the  wagon,  where  he  found  John  white  and  still. 
When  he  first  looked  at  his  son  he  thought  he  saw  death. 
The  remaining  robber  fell  upon  his  knees  and  begged 
for  his  life.  Peter  turned  at  the  sound  of  the  fellow's 
voice  and  beheld  a  cowering  brute  who  was  pointing  at  his 
leg,  where  Mr.  Doobey's  head  was  still  clinging  to  its 
hold.  The  robbers  had  tried  to  loosen  the  dog's  grip 
but  this  was  impossible;  the  teeth  were  too  firmly  planted 
in  the  bone. 

Peter  leveled  his  rifle  at  the  kneeling  figure,  begging 
for  life,  and  sent  a  bullet  crashing  through  his  head.  He 
then  looked  for  the  robber's  companions,  his  rule  ready, 
but  his  aim  had  been  true.  One  of  them  lay  still, 


22  The  Mechanic 

and  the  others  were  running  for  life.  Then  lifting  the 
boy  in  his  arms,  he  detected  the  odor  of  chloroform.  Carry 
ing  John  to  a  stream  near  by,  he  sprinkled  water  on  his 
face  and  soon  saw  a  faint  sign  of  returning  life.  With 
this  relief,  the  mighty  hold  that  Peter  had  on  his  own  life 
began  to  fail.  John  presently  became  conscious,  and 
looking  up  at  his  father  said,  "  Daddie,  why  you  look  so 
white  and  why  don't  'oo  smile  at  me  ?  "  But  before  the 
sentence  was  finished,  Peter's  determined  soul  had  gone 
to  its  God. 

Presently  a  farmer,  coming  along,  found  John  in  tears, 
trying  to  make  his  father  hear  him.  Later  the  wagon, 
with  its  dead,  reached  Worth's  house.  The  mother  was 
at  the  door  and  saw  the  stark  figure  of  her  husband. 
Running  to  the  body,  she  fell  over  it  —  dead. 

The  next  morning  there  were  no  foreigners  by  the 
bridge. 


CHAPTER  II 

DAVID   TRIES   BUSINESS 

DAVID  tried  to  run  the  business  of  making  fine  steel 
and  for  a  year  succeeded  fairly  well.  One  day  he  had  a 
call  from  a  representative  of  the  Pittsburg  Steel  people, 
who  renewed  their  offer  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars 
for  the  plant;  but  David  refused,  firm  in  the  belief  that  he 
could  continue  to  run  the  factory  and  foundry  at  a  profit. 
Hodges,  through  his  spy  Bill  Sharp,  discovered  that  the 
pile  of  iron  stone  had  not  diminished  any  since  the  death 
of  Peter  Worth.  Of  course  he  did  not  value  at  one  hun 
dred  thousand  dollars  the  small  plant  without  the  process 
that  could  at  one  melting  convert  iron  stone  into  steel. 

For  a  time  he  was  convinced  that  David  must  know  the 
process,  but  he  finally  heard  through  his  man  that  the 
papers  relating  to  the  process  were  either  lost  or  so  hidden 
that  they  could  not  be  found.  His  informant  was  speak 
ing  the  truth  when  he  told  him  that  David  Worth  had 
dug  up  every  inch  of  ground  in  the  factory  and  had 
searched  in  every  likely  place,  but  had  not  found  what  he 
sought.  David  had  talked  openly  with  one  or  two  of  the 
mechanics  of  the  shop  as  to  the  steel  process,  and  it  was 
quite  certain  that  he  knew  nothing  whatever  of  his  brother's 
method  of  converting  iron  ore  into  steel. 

When  Tom  Hodges  heard  this  he  called  on  his  father, 
the  president  of  the  company,  and  asked  for  authority  to 
close  the  Worth  shop. 

23 


24  The  Mechanic 

"  Those  papers  must  be  there,"  he  said,  "  and  I  want  to 
conduct  a  thorough  and  systematic  search.  I  have  found 
out  that  Peter  Worth  was  never  seen  going  to  his  house 
with  papers  of  any  kind.  I  have  also  learned  that  his 
wife  was  so  delicate  that  he  made  a  point  of  never  talking 
business  to  her.  I  am  positive  that  the  drawings  exist, 
for  of  course  he  didn't  find  this  process  in  a  night  and 
he  must  have  made  innumerable  chemical  tests,  and, 
after  the  tests,  he  had  to  make  drawings  for  machinery. 
The  Worth  factory  is  divided  into  two  parts  within  the 
four  outer  walls;  that  is,  inside  there  is  a  walled  enclosure 
of  brick  without  windows.  He  used  electric  light  to  work 
by  and  the  only  way  to  get  into  this  second  shop  is  through 
the  office  of  the  factory.  Our  man,  and  he  is  a  nailer, 
has  even  succeeded  in  securing  a  look  at  this  second  shop. 
It  is  well  guarded  by  its  one  heavy  iron  door,  and  when 
this  is  open  the  office  door  is  closed  and  bolted. 

"Of  course,  you  see  the  importance  of  getting  these 
works.  If  we  secure  only  a  faint  suggestion  to  work  on 
from  the  residue  in  the  pots  I  can  do  the  rest.  It  will 
be  the  greatest  find  of  this  century.  I  need  not  tell  you 
what  it  means,  other  than  my  opinion  that  if  we  secure 
this  process  it  is  worth  more  than  our  original  stock." 

After  delivering  this  opinion,  Tom  Hodges,  who, 
though  only  twenty-four,  was  already  a  noted  steel 
chemist  and  one  of  the  growing  powers  in  steel,  looked 
at  the  president  awaiting  his  reply.  It  was  not  long 
in  coming,  as  father  and  son  had  talked  before  about 
Worth  and  his  process. 

The  father  answered,  "I'll  leave  it  all  to  you;  get  the 
process.  Have  I  said  enough?" 

The  son  with  a  smile  exclaimed,  "  Yes ! "  and  walked  out. 

Young  Hodges  presently  went  to  England  and  Germany 


David  Tries  Business  25 

and  returned  with  a  number  of  workmen  who  could  make 
the  kind  of  steel  that  David  turned  out.  Then  he  cut 
prices  in  two,  and  shortly  David  was  without  orders  to 
fill.  His  largest  customer,  the  Ampere  Electric  Construc 
tion  Company,  sent  for  David,  and  its  manager,  Gary, 
said  to  him,  "  We  have  dealt  with  your  brother  ever  since 
he  started  and  the  directors  request  me  to  inform  you  that 
they  would  continue  to  deal  with  you  but  for  the  pressure 
that  has  been  brought  to  bear  upon  them.  In  other  words, 
they  think  it  is  only  fair  to  give  you  a  hint  that  the  Steel 
people  are  after  your  scalp  and  they  think  it  will  be  useless 
to  fight  them  any  longer.  Of  course,  this  is  in  confidence. 
At  any  rate  they  told  us  that  if  we  placed  another  order 
with  you  that  there  would  be  trouble.  Personally  I 
should  like  a  war,  but  unfortunately  it's  not  my  money 
that's  in  jeopardy." 

David,  who  clearly  saw  the  trend  of  affairs,  replied, 
"  Thanks  for  your  advice,  Mr.  Gary.  I  have  an  idea  that 
you  are  right  and  I'll  close  up.  Do  you  know  of  any 
firm  that  would  like  to  buy  our  plant?  It  is  a  beauty, 
as  perhaps  you  may  know." 

Gary  smilingly  said,  "I  see  you  don't  know  young 
Hodges  or  the  Steel  people;  they  will  take  mighty  good 
care  that  their  war  on  you  will  leave  them  masters  of  your 
foundry  and  factory.  To  be  plain,  they  will  convey 
a  hint  to  intending  purchasers  to  get  busy  with  other 
affairs." 

"Again  I  thank  you,"  said  David,  as  he  walked  out. 
When  he  arrived  at  the  works  he  called  his  men  into  the 
office  and  announced,  "I  close  Saturday,  boys.  I  am 
down  and  out." 

When  this  was  done  he  went  to  the  bank  and  notified 
the  officers  that  he  could  not  meet  his  overdrafts  as  the 


26  The  Mechanic 

Steel  people  would  not  allow  him  to  continue  business. 
He  stated  that  the  land  and  factory  were  worth  ten  times 
what  he  owed  them,  so  they  need  not  worry  about  what 
was  due,  but  that  it  was  his  wish  to  get  as  much  as  he 
could  for  the  property  on  account  of  his  brother's  child. 

The  cashier  answered,  "We  shall  have  to  sell  all  at 
public  auction.  I  hope  the  property  will  realize  enough 
to  give  little  John  a  nice  balance;  at  any  rate  he  has  our 
sympathy.  How  much  do  you  owe  now,  Worth  ?  I  am 
not  aiming  at  anything  but  a  desire  to  help  the  boy." 

"I  owe  you  twelve  thousand  and  another  three 
thousand  more  in  small  accounts.  If  I  can  get  fif 
teen  thousand  dollars  for  the  shop  I  shall  be  clear  of 
the  world."  Then  David  added,  "  I  hope  you  will  hurry 
the  auction  as  I  am  anxious  to  get  back  to  New  York." 

Hodges  was  pleased  with  his  work  and  yet  he  would 
have  preferred  a  longer  fight  so  as  to  tie  David  up  with 
a  greater  debt  than  fifteen  thousand  dollars.  Hodges  got 
this  amount  from  the  bank,  which  already  had  sent  out  a 
notice  of  sale.  Many  machinists  went  to  see  the  Worth 
shop  with  an  idea  of  purchase,  but  all  these  were  told  that 
the  property  was  desired  by  the  Steel  people,  and  of  course 
they  returned  to  their  own  shops  wondering  why  the 
Steel  people  hated  Worth. 

In  the  meantime  David  was  altering  his  place,  a  three 
story  building  in  Center  Street,  for  John.  His  shop 
occupied  all  of  the  ground  story ;  the  next  floor  was  divided 
into  two  rooms,  one  of  which  he  used  as  an  office  and  the 
other  he  slept  in.  The  top  story  had  never  been  used 
except  as  a  storeroom.  He  had  this  large  room  renovated 
and  made  into  a  sitting-room,  bedroom,  and  bathroom. 
He  then  hired  a  young  woman  as  cook  and  housemaid 
and  turned  his  old  room  into  a  kitchen.  All  of  these 


David  Tries  Business  %7 

changes  were  accomplished  with  hardly  any  outlay,  as 
David  was  very  popular  and  had  asked  his  brother 
mechanics  to  do  this  work  at  night  or  when  they  were  not 
busy. 

On  the  morning  of  the  sale,  David,  not  daring  to  look 
at  John  because  of  the  tears  in  his  eyes,  said,  "We  are 
going  to  New  York  this  afternoon,  my  boy,  so  take  a  last 
look  'round  for  anything  overlooked." 

"  Thanks,  Uncle  David,  but  I  have  everything  packed." 

The  auctioneer  soon  called  for  bids,  and  the  cashier  of 
the  Passaic  Banking  and  Trust  Company  bid  eighteen 
thousand  dollars.  This  made  Hodges'  representative 
angry  and  he  spoke  to  the  cashier,  who  answered,  "If 
you  want  this  property,  bid  twenty  thousand  dollars  and 
it's  yours,  or  else  it  belongs  to  us.  You  are  not  now 
dealing  with  a  poor  mechanic." 

The  representatives,  knowing  that  this  man's  bank  was 
backed  by  one  of  the  largest  insurance  companies  of 
America,  made  no  response,  but,  turning  to  the  auctioneer, 
said,  "  Twenty  thousand, "  and  the  property  was  imme 
diately  knocked  down  to  the  Steel  Company. 

David  grasped  the  cashier's  hand  and  in  a  hoarse  voice 
said,  "  Thanks." 

"No  thanks  at  all,"  replied  the  cashier;  "the  five  thou 
sand  dollars  is  for  John's  education." 

After  the  sale  David  said  to  John,  "  I  think  everything 
is  now  over,  and  we  will  go  to  New  York  and  start  a 
peaceful  life."  For  the  first  time  in  nearly  two  years 
David's  walk  was  buoyant.  He  had  essayed  business 
and  had  failed  dismally;  now  he  was  on  his  way  to  the 
shop  where,  as  a  model-maker,  he  was  a  success. 

When  Tom  Hodges  arrived  in  Newark  the  morning 
after  the  sale,  and  saw  a  burnt  foundry  with  only  the 


28  The  Mechanic 

walls  standing,  his  first  impulse  was  to  begin  an  action 
against  David  Worth.  But  the  president  of  the  company 
said,  "  We  don't  want  his  story  told  in  court,  supplemented 
by  the  testimony  of  witnesses.  That's  not  our  way,  and 
anyway  David  Worth  is  now  too  small  potatoes  for  us  to 
bother  with."  So  Hodges  had  to  suppress  his  rage  and 
this  took  considerable  time,  for  his  mirror  showed  that 
the  punishment  he  had  received  from  David  had  converted 
him  into  a  coarse-looking  brute  with  a  flat  face  full  of 
seams  and  scars.  The  object  that  he  saw  in  the  glass 
hurt  him  more  than  the  loss  of  the  process  which  he  had 
hoped  to  steal. 

In  Pittsburg  and  the  oil  regions  he  found  that  his  name 
of  "  Strong  Tom  "  was  a  thing  of  the  past,  and  he  ground 
his  teeth  in  rage  at  the  man  who  had  marked  him 
for  life.  But  he  was  clever  and  a  person  who  reasoned, 
so  he  dropped  the  personal  brute  force  side  and  sought 
money  and  power.  He  never  once  thought  of  the  man 
he  had  killed  on  the  hill  road  by  his  hired  bandits,  nor 
did  he  dwell  on  the  death  of  Rennie,  the  murdered  man's 
wife.  He  completely  forgot  the  little  boy  who  was  to  be 
nursed  and  reared  listening  to  the  refrain,  "  Hodges  fixed 
that  deal  by  which  your  father  lost  his  life." 


CHAPTER  HI 

KING,   THE   GREAT  WALL  STREET   MANIPULATOR 

JOHN  was  charmed  with  his  new  home  in  Center  Street, 
and  when  he  said  to  his  uncle,  "I  feel  better  here;  not  so 
lonesome,"  David  was  delighted.  The  following  day 
David  took  his  little  charge  to  the  public  school  and 
introduced  him  to  the  principal.  His  school  associations 
promised  to  be  both  pleasant  and  beneficial. 

Then  David  interviewed  his  housekeeper,  Mary  Rad- 
ley,  and  directed  that  John  should  be  given  plenty 
of  milk,  oatmeal,  and  eggs  for  breakfast,  and  a  hearty 
dinner  of  meat  and  vegetables  at  noon.  At  four  o'clock 
he  was  to  have  some  milk,  bread,  butter,  and  jam; 
then  more  milk  and  bread  before  being  put  to  bed.  He 
laid  special  stress  on  the  boy  having  a  daily  bath,  and 
warned  her  that  he  was  likely  to  become  disagreeable  if 
John  were  ever  slighted. 

Mary  Radley  protested  that  she  would  take  the  best  of 
care  of  the  little  fellow,  and  offered  to  aid  him  with  his 
lessons  as  well.  She  also  expressed  her  gratitude  at 
having  such  work,  as  her  family  was  in  great  need  of 
what  she  earned. 

David  descended  to  his  shop  and  went  to  work,  his 
heart  at  rest  for  the  first  time  in  many  months.  David 
Worth  was  not  much  of  a  man  in  Jersey,  but  here  on  his 
own  soil  he  was  what  he  felt  himself  to  be,  a  man  who 
asked  no  odds  of  any  one.  Many  dropped  in  to  see  him 
and  invited  him  to  drink.  David's  answer  hardly  ever 

29 


30  The  Mechanic 

varied:  "Can't  now,  am  a  family  man,  and  the  boy 
needs  my  all.  I'm  going  to  educate  him  in  law  and 
science."  Upon  seeing  their  disappointment,  David,  who 
wanted  to  keep  his  hold  over  his  late  associates,  would 
add,  "  Come  'round  about  seven  and  see  Peter's  son  — 
he's  a  great  boy.  I'll  set  'em  up  then,  but  not  for  long, 
as  he  goes  to  bed  at  eight,  and,  boys,  just  count  me  out 
in  the  drinking  end  hereafter.  I've  quit." 

At  three  o'clock  on  John's  first  day  at  school,  David 
left  the  shop  so  as  to  bring  him  home,  for  he  well  knew 
that  East  side  New  York  was  not  like  Jersey,  and  that 
until  John  accustomed  himself  to  new  conditions  he  would 
have  a  rough  time  of  it.  David  posted  himself  in  a 
corner  bakery  and  waited  until  school  was  out. 

The  boys  in  John's  class  had  noted  the  stranger  with 
rosy  cheeks  and  a  general  suggestion  of  the  country,  so 
they  made  up  their  minds  to  have  some  sport.  Little 
Willie  Radley,  a  brother  of  David's  housekeeper,  who 
was  the  leader  of  this  class,  took  charge  of  the  fun;  he 
had  been  told  by  his  mother  to  help  John  all  he  could, 
and  Willie,  with  twinkling  eyes,  had  promised.  Then  the 
little  imp  began  to  devise  ways  of  making  it  lively  for  the 
"farmer,"  so  when  school  was  over  David  saw  John 
surrounded  by  curious  and  mischievous  youngsters.  At 
first  a  quantity  of  East  side  English  was  discharged  at 
him,  but  John,  who  was  an  even-tempered  little  chap, 
only  smiled  at  the  names  he  was  called.  What  David 
saw  later  made  him  laugh  with  huge  glee.  This  was  a 
battle-royal  between  John  and  Willie,  which  ended  in 
the  latter's  signal  discomfiture.  What  particularly  tickled 
David,  however,  was  the  ceremonious  solemnity  with 
which  the  combatants,  when  all  was  over,  shook  hands 
and  helped  each  other  on  with  their  coats. 


King,  the  Great  Wall  Street  Manipulator  31 

When  he  came  home  he  found  John  upstairs  getting 
ready  to  study  his  lessons,  and  he  was  pleased  that  his 
nephew  made  no  mention  of  the  trouble.  The  follow 
ing  morning  John  started  for  school  without  any  appar 
ent  worry,  and  David  said  to  himself,  "  Like  his  father  — 
he  is  not  afraid  of  anything." 

When  John  passed  out  of  his  street,  he  was  met  by 
Willie  Radley,  who,  broadly  smiling,  said,  "  Come  quick, 
I  want  to  show  you  to  my  father.  When  I  told  him  that 
you  licked  me  he  was  mighty  pleased;  now  he  wants  to 
see  you  and  so  does  mother."  John  hesitated  at  first  for 
fear  this  was  a  scheme  to  entrap  him,  but  Willie's  smiling 
face  dispelled  the  thought.  Following  Willie,  he  was  soon 
in  the  Radley  house,  and  they  were  so  pleasant  and  so 
genuinely  pleased  that  Willie  had  met  his  match  that 
John  looked  the  surprise  he  felt. 

It  was  Willie's  father  who  explained,  "You  see,  Willie 
fights  all  the  time;  he  has  told  us  on  many  occasions  that 
he  would  stop  as  soon  as  some  boy  of  his  own  age  licked 
him.  You  now  know  the  reason  why  we  are  all  glad." 
And  the  father,  turning  to  his  son,  said,  "Don't  forget 
your  promise,  and  bring  Peter's  son  in  for  Sunday  dinner 
—  I'll  ask  David." 

John  and  young  Radley  then  went  to  school  —  Willie 
was  a  little  boy  with  red  hair,  small  twinkling  eyes,  and  a 
bulging  forehead.  His  nature  was  that  of  the  bulldog, 
and  he  now  gave  to  John  a  friendship  which  was  to  last 
and  hold  clear  and  strong  throughout  his  life. 

On  Sunday,  John  met  the  Presbyterian  minister,  Doctor 
Sawyer,  and  his  two  daughters,  and  it  was  not  long  before 
he  was  a  teacher  in  Sunday  school,  for  he  apparently 
could  manage  the  little  foreigners  better  than  any  one 
else.  It  greatly  surprised  both  David  and  the  doctor  to 


32  The  Mechanic 

find  that  John,  after  a  three  years'  sojourn  on  the  East  side, 
could  speak  French,  Yiddish,  Slav,  and  the  Italian  dialects. 
These  different  tongues  John  had  evidently  assimilated, 
for  he  had  not  studied  any  of  them.  This  knowledge 
came,  of  course,  from  playing  with  the  children. 

At  eighteen,  John  had  passed  his  examination  for 
Columbia  and  was,  by  reason  of  his  faculties  and  his 
unusual  means  of  expression,  a  power  with  the  foreign- 
born  element  on  the  East  side. 

Willie  Radley  was  graduated  the  year  after  John,  and 
as  he  was  a  good  scholar,  especially  in  mathematics,  his 
parents  hoped  to  get  him  a  situation  in  some  mercantile 
house.  One  day  Mrs.  Radley  stopped  John  on  the  street 
and  asked  him  if  he  thought  his  uncle  could  do  anything 
for  Willie  with  the  new  savings-bank  which  was  to  be 
opened  the  following  week.  Noting  the  anxious  look 
in  the  mother's  eyes,  John  said  in  his  pleasant,  halting 
way,  "  I'll  speak  to  my  uncle  as  soon  as  I  get  home, 
Mrs.  Radley,"  and  at  dinner  that  night  he  spoke  of 
Willie,  and  it  was  decided  that  they  would  see  the  presi 
dent  of  the  bank  the  next  morning. 

This  gentleman  was  reached  by  telephone  and  he  made 
an  engagement  for  the  afternoon,  at  which  time  Dr.  Sawyer, 
David,  the  secretary  of  Worth's  union,  Willie  Radley, 
and  John  called  upon  him.  Dr.  Sawyer  as  spokesman  said, 
"If  you  can  make  room  for  William  Radley  in  your 
bank  you  will  be  conferring  a  favor  on  the  East  side;  at 
any  rate  we  are  here  to  vouch  for  his  honesty."  The 
president,  knowing  that  the  presence  of  William  Radley 
in  the  bank  would  materially  help  him  with  the  vast  army 
of  workmen  and  others  who  lived  around  Center  Street, 
looked  at  Willie  with  a  smile  and  said,  "It  will  give  us 
pleasure  to  let  this  young  man  have  a  try  at  banking." 


King,  the  Great  Wall  Street  Manipulator  33 

Willie,  who  for  six  months  had  been  trying  earnestly 
to  get  a  job,  almost  cried  with  pleasure.  Turning  to 
John,  whose  hand  he  had  grasped,  he  whispered,  "I'll 
be  cashier  when  I'm  twenty-one."  He  did  not  know 
that  he  was  making  a  prophecy  that  was  to  come  true; 
he  was  merely  telling  his  friend  in  other  words  that  he 
was  going  to  work  hard. 

John  was  very  much  pleased  with  Willie's  good  fortune, 
and  when  the  bank  was  opened  for  business  he  advised 
all  his  friends  to  deposit  their  money  there.  It  was  not 
long  before  this  new  institution  was  doing  a  thriving 
business,  so  much  more  than  had  been  expected  that  the 
directors,  at  their  first  meeting,  complimented  the  presi 
dent  on  the  amount  of  the  deposits.  The  president,  who 
was  a  good  deal  of  a  man,  said, 

"  It  was  my  good  luck  to  give  a  situation  to  a  native, 
one  William  Radley,  who  is  now  working  on  one  of  the 
ledgers.  He  is  bright,  accurate,  and  neat  in  his  work,  so 
that  he  fills  his  present  position  with  entire  satisfaction. 
This  young  Radley  has  for  a  friend  a  young  man  about 
his  own  age  by  the  name  of  John  Worth,  and  it  is  to  this 
youth,  strange  as  it  may  sound,  that  we  owe  our  financial 
success.  He  was  not  satisfied  with  seeing  a  few  of  the 
leading  foreigners  and  telling  them  about  the  merits  of 
saving  money,  but  wrote  letters  to  all  the  foreign  papers 
which  circulate  on  the  East  side.  I  have  had  these  letters 
translated  and  here  they  are  if  you  care  to  read  them. 
You  will  observe  that  the  writer  speaks  commandingly, 
that  is,  he  doesn't  say,  *  Please  put  your  money  in  the 
bank,  '  nor  does  he  attempt  to  reason.  He  merely  states 
decisively  that  they  must  do  so,  and  yet — well,  he  doesn't 
say  '  must '  anywhere,  but  somehow  he  has  a  powerful  pen. 
At  any  rate  I  know  definitely  what  his  influence  is  —  our 


34  The  Mechanic 

books  show  it.  I  asked  young  Radley  to  bring  his 
friend  in  to  see  me,  and  he  called  yesterday.  I  was  also 
anxious  to  meet  eye  to  eye  the  most  potential  force  in 
man's  form  on  the  East  side.  When  I  thanked  him  he 
replied,  '  I  have  worked  for  Willie  —  don't  forget  that, 
please.' 

"  Gentlemen,"  and  the  president  looked  at  each  one  of 
the  directors  sitting  about  the  large  table,  "those  words 
were  said  to  me  by  the  finest  specimen  of  young  man 
that  my  eyes  have  ever  looked  upon.  He  spoke  easily 
and  pleasantly,  but  I  gathered  that  our  large  list  of  de 
positors  depends  altogether  on  our  treatment  of  William 
Radley.  I  think,  therefore,  that  we  ought  to  advance 
this  boy  in  our  affections.  He  is  nineteen." 

The  directors  evidently  thought  so  too,  for  the  next  day 
Willie  was  made  receiving  teller.  But  what  was  also 
remarkable  about  young  Radley,  other  than  John's  in 
fluence,  was  that  he  was  more  than  ordinarily  bright;  he 
was,  in  fact,  a  genius  at  figures.  His  early  promise  of 
great  ugliness  now  seemed  cheerfully  fulfilled,  as  Willie's 
face  did  not  possess  a  regular  feature.  His  bulging  fore 
head,  red  hair,  and  twinkling  eyes  were,  if  anything, 
more  pronounced  at  nineteen  than  they  had  been  at  ten, 
but  notwithstanding  his  ugliness  Willie  was  extremely 
pleasing  to  the  eye.  He  was  generally  laughing  and  his 
joy  was  good  to  see.  Willie  was  only  five  feet  eight 
inches  high,  but  no  one  ever  thought  of  attempting  to 
take  advantage  of  him  on  account  of  his  size.  It  was 
well  known  that  Willie  could  stop  laughing,  and  then  he 
would  go  as  far  as  his  stout  little  heart  would  take  him, 
for  fear  had  been  left  out  of  his  nature. 

The  game  of  finance  now  occupied  all  of  Willie's  time 
as  mechanics  occupied  that  of  John.  Both  boys  in  their 


King,  the  Great  Wall  Street  Manipulator  35 

differing  ways  were  getting  their  first  feel  of  things. 
John's  course  at  Columbia  kept  him  very  busy,  and 
through  a  librarian  of  the  East  side  he  secured  an  intro 
duction  to  the  librarian  of  the  law  library.  Here  John, 
after  class,  would  go  to  study  and  read,  always  reaching 
home  for  dinner,  and  at  night  he  worked  in  the  shop, 
helping  his  uncle  with  different  jobs. 

The  particular  work  now  reaching  completion  was  a 
model  of  a  typesetting-machine  which  was  being  paid  for  by 
James  King,  the  Wall  Street  manipulator.  On  Friday, 
David  told  John  that  it  was  finished  and  that  on  the  next 
day  they  would  go  to  Broad  Street  and  report  to  King. 

The  following  day,  for  the  first  time,  John  met  one  of 
the  great  men  of  the  country.  He  saw  a  thin  man  about 
fifty,  above  medium  height,  with  hazel  eyes,  gray  hair 
and  beard.  But  what  held  him  for  more  than  passing 
thought  wras  King's  voice;  it  was  very  low  and  velvety. 
He  was  speaking  to  David  about  the  machine  while  a 
clerk  was  in  an  outer  office  filling  in  a  check.  When 
David  had  receipted  his  bill  and  was  about  to  leave, 
King  said,  "My  lawyer  Riddell  tells  me  that  you  have 
built  a  very  nice  machine,  but  he  also  says  that  the  ma 
chine  infringes  the  patents  of  the  'One  Type'  machine, 
which  belongs  to  the  recently  formed  trust.  Now,  I 
should  like  to  say  here  that  I  inherited  the  machine  on 
which  you  have  been  working  from  a  firm  of  stock 
brokers  who  failed,  owing  me  a  lot  of  money.  They 
valued  their  patents  and  drawings  at  three  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  as  they  owed  me  very  much 
more  than  this  amount,  for  reasons  of  relationship  to  one 
of  the  brokers  I  did  not  question  their  valuation.  Then 
you  were  recommended  as  a  machinist  who  could  properly 
build  this  model.  During  all  the  time  that  you  have 


36  The  Mechanic 

been  at  work,  or  up  to  last  week,  I  supposed  that  I  pos 
sessed  something  that  was  at  least  original,  and  I  now 
learn  from  my  patent  attorney  that  my  patents  are  not 
worth  two  straws.  What  is  your  opinion  ?  " 

Turning  to  his  nephew,  David  said,  "You  answer 
Mr.  King." 

"  The  machine  which  my  uncle  built  from  the  drawings 
supplied  to  him  and  the  'One  Type'  machine  are  almost 
identical,"  answered  John.  "The  man  who  invented 
'One  Type'  and  'The  King',  as  we  call  your  machine  in 
the  shop,  are  known  as  professional  inventors.  That  is  to 
say,  neither  one,  so  far  as  my  researches  reveal,  ever 
invented  anything  basic  or  fundamental.  They  both 
studied  all  the  expired  patents  in  printing,  which  is 
called  prior  art,  and  from  the  inventions  of  others  they 
borrowed  or  appropriated  enough  to  get  a  patent.  One 
of  these  professionals  was  a  bit  ahead  of  the  other,  that  is, 
the  'One  Type'  man  got  his  machine  out  first;  and  from 
that  fact,  if  the  two  machines  were  up  for  trial,  he  would 
possess  the  sympathy  of  the  Court.  But  I  feel  certain 
that  they  couldn't  secure  an  injunction  against  your 
typesetter." 

As  John  spoke  he  noticed  that  King  watched  him  so 
closely  as  to  amount  to  almost  a  continuous  stare,  but  it 
was  not  unfriendly,  for  King  was  thinking,  "He  talks  as 
Riddell  talked."  This  struck  him  as  odd,  so  he  asked, 
"  You  have  studied  this  subject  of  prior  art  as  it  affects 
printing  ?  " 

John  replied,  "  When  your  machine  came  to  my  uncle's 
shop  we  made  a  careful  study  of  all  existing  machines  to 
see  where  we  could  economize  on  weight  and  working 
parts,  and  as  I  am  studying  law  at  Columbia  I  thought 
I  couldn't  do  better  than  study  the  art  of  printing.  In 


King,  the  Great  Wall  Street  Manipulator  37 

this  way  I  gathered  my  ideas  as  to  your  machine  and 
others." 

"  I  should  like  to  see  *  The  King '  as  you  call  it,  on  the 
market  as  an  original  machine,"  King  said  after  a  mo 
ment's  pause,  "  and  moreover,  I  should  not  in  the  least 
mind  the  fight  that  the  trust  would  put  up.  But  isn't 
'The  King'  a  lame  sort  of  a  duck?" 

"  It  is,  as  you  put  it,"  laughed  John,  "  a  decidedly  lame 
duck  so  far  as  originality  goes.  As  a  matter  of  fact  there 
is  not  one  part  in  it  which  has  not  been  taken  from  the 
prior  art";  and  then  John,  walking  over  to  the  ticker, 
added,  "I  feel  sure  that  this  is  the  idea  for  a  printing 
machine;  that  is,  something  run  by  magnets.  Compressed 
air,  that  the  *  One  Type '  uses  is  cumbersome  and  very 
old." 

"  You  think,  then,  that  you  could  build  a  machine  that 
would  in  no  way  infringe  'One  Type'  ?"  King  exclaimed. 

"  I  am  positive  we  could,"  John  replied. 

"What  will  it  cost  me?" 

John,  who  saw  his  chance,  said :  "  If  you  are  not  in  a 
hurry,  I'll  do  the  work  at  night  and  it  won't  cost  you 
anything  beyond  the  actual  supplies." 

The  arrangement,  an  indefinite  one,  was  agreed  upon 
these  lines. 

On  the  way  to  Center  Street  John  said  to  his  uncle, 
"  You  will  remember  what  I  have  said  about  telegraphing, 
and  how  easy  it  is  for  an  operator  to  pass  words  over  a 
wire  by  means  of  dots  and  dashes  ?  Now  I  am  going  to 
build  '  The  King '  over  again,  but  this  time  we  follow  our 
own  plans  and  we  model  our  own  ideas." 

David  looked  at  his  nephew  with  eyes  of  love  and  said, 
"As  you  spoke  I  thought  for  a  moment  it  was  brother 
Peter.  Somehow  I  think  you  are  strangely  like  him,  but 


38  The  Mechanic 

there  are  times  when  I  can  see  only  Rennie."  David, 
now  an  old  man  with  bent  form,  shook  his  head  and 
added,  "  It's  all  in  the  education,  John,  so  you  must  not 
work  hard  until  you  are  through  college  and  have  your 
papers  as  a  lawyer.  My  work  will  then  be  finished  and 
I  can  go  to  Peter  and  Rennie  with  a  clean  heart.  Ah! 
John,  not  a  word  about  taking  your  place  in  the  shop  now; 
I  mean  to  carry  out  your  father's  last  words  to  me.  The 
words  are  burnt  into  my  heart : '  I  am  going  to  see  that  he 
is  educated  for  all  that  word  means.'  That's  what  he 
said,  my  boy,  so  build  your  magnet  machine.  Being  a 
Worth  and  Peter's  son,  I  know  you  can  do  it,  but  work 
only  at  night  or  when  you  are  tired  of  study.  My,  John, 
but  you  talked  well  to  Mr.  King,  and  he  is  one  of  the 
biggest  men  in  the  country;  a  great  gambler  they  call 
him,  but  I  have  found  him  a  large-hearted  man  who 
pays  well  and  always  sees  me  no  matter  how  many  are 
in  his  office.  Ay !  and  I  saw  his  eyes  follow  you  when  you 
spoke;  perhaps  he  has  taken  a  fancy  to  you.  I  hope  so, 
lad,  I  hope  so." 

They  made  a  picture  walking  when  on  the  street, 
David  always  dressed  in  blue  shirt,  belt,  and  dark 
trousers,  and  this  garb  of  the  mechanic  set  off  his  great 
shoulders  to  advantage.  John  was  dressed  much  the 
same,  except  that  he  wore  a  coat  of  dark  material. 
His  height  and  good  looks,  and  that  radiant  something 
which  we  call  force,  made  many  turn  to  look  at  him.  It 
was  that  intangible  power  which  made  King,  a  great 
reader  of  character,  look  at  John  attentively.  At  first 
he  saw  merely  a  tall  boy  of  twenty  with  a  broad,  white 
forehead,  dark  blue  eyes,  a  rather  big,  straight  nose,  fine 
chin,  and  magnificent  teeth  set  a  bit  transversely  across 
the  gums,  signifying,  as  King  knew,  an  abundance  of 


King,  the  Great  Wall  Street  Manipulator  39 

will-power.  His  form  was  perfect  and  gave  promise  of 
great  strength.  His  hair,  a  light  brown  streaked  with 
gold,  added  the  necessary  touch  in  making  John  a  very 
distinguished  looking  youth.  After  a  moment,  however, 
King  forgot  John's  appearance,  but  began  to  wonder  why 
he  was  so  much  interested  in  the  lad.  The  impression 
then  made  never  left  King's  memory,  and  a  year  later, 
when  John  called  upon  him,  he  was  admitted  at  once. 

King  felt  a  quaint  tingle  of  pleasure  when  he  pressed 
John's  hand  and  said,  "  How  is  your  uncle  and  '  The 
King'?" 

"  One  is  better  than  the  other;  that  is,  my  uncle  is  not 
very  well,  but  the  magnet  machine  lives,  breathes,  and 
gives  forth  promise.  I  called  to-day  to  ask  you  to  come 
to  see  it  work,  and  also  to  say  that  the  papers,  drawings, 
and  so  forth,  for  the  patent  office,  are  ready  for  Mr. 
Riddell." 

"  Tell  me  about  the  machine." 

John  began  talking  about  the  type-caster  and  setter  and 
concluded  his  description  by  saying,  "I  have  only  a 
model  now,  but  it  works  smoothly  and  perfectly." 

"Very  interesting,"  exclaimed  King.  "What  will  it 
cost  to  build  this  machine  in  quantities  ?  " 

"Less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars."  And  at 
this  statement  King  looked  at  John  for  a  moment  and 
then  said,  "The  other  machines  are  sold  for  thirty-one 
hundred  dollars.  What  will  you  sell  yours  for  ?  " 

"I  suggest  five  hundred  dollars.  You  see  the  other 
two  machines  are  loaded  with  intricate  devices;  in  fact 
they  are  a  tangle  of  parts.  Mine  is  simplicity  itself.  I 
place  the  *  One  Type '  at  five  thousand  parts,  including 
everything.  'The  King'  has  less  than  a  thousand  parts; 
my  machine,  boxed  and  ready  for  shipment,  will  weigh 


40  The  Mechanic 

three  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.     This  will  give  you  an 
idea  as  to  its  simplicity." 

"Have  you  thought  out  a  business  arrangement  as 
between  ourselves  ?"  asked  King. 

"  I  have  a  condition  which  I  should  like  to  make  with 
you  as  between  men,"  answered  John,  "and  because  of 
this  condition  I  won't  ask  any  money  down  for  my  labors 
or  for  my  patents.  I'm  sure  that  the  machine  will  sell  in 
thousands,  because  it  is  something  the  printers  want,— 
a  cheap,  efficient  contrivance  for  translating  manuscript 
into  type;  and  this  being  the  case,  the  trust  will  want  to 
embody  it  in  their  list.  Now,  for  personal  reasons,  I 
won't  permit  a  child  of  my  brain  to  go  to  any  company 
in  which  Mr.  Hodges  has  an  interest.  I  hope  what  I 
have  said  will  not  influence  you  against  me  or  the  machine. 
I  have  worked  hard  to  build  something  new  to  take  the 
place  of  the  old,  and  with  each  and  every  device  that  I 
hammered  into  life  I  saw  this  talk  with  you  and  I  was 
fearful.  Yet  I  went  on  with  the  hope  that  if  you  took 
the  machine  up  you  would  perhaps  give  me  this  promise 
as  to  Hodges." 

"  And  if  I  refuse,"  demanded  King,  who  looked  at  John 
with  piercing  eyes. 

"  In  that  case  I  shall  not  give  you  the  patents.  I  am 
not  bound  to,  you  know,  as  I  have  not  called  on  you 
for  a  cent." 

Then  the  two  men  looked  at  each  other,  and  something 
in  John's  eyes  stopped  the  quick  retort  that  was  in 
King's  mind,  for  though  he  possessed  a  velvety  voice  and 
a  quiet  manner,  he  could  become  very  violent.  At 
all  times  he  winced  under  dictation,  and  this  was  perhaps 
the  real  reason  that  up  to  this  time  he  had  never  had  a 
business  associate.  Consequently,  though  he  tried  not 


King,  the  Great  Wall  Street  Manipulator  41 

to  show  it,  he  was  rather  vexed  with  the  condition,  not 
on  account  of  Hodges,  for  he  disliked  the  man,  but  he 
wished  at  all  times  to  be  free  to  do  as  he  pleased.  But 
with  the  angry  impulse  he  saw  that  the  man  talking  to 
him  had  some  strong  impelling  reason,  so  he  stifled  the 
hot  words  and  said  instead,  "  May  I  ask  why  you  dislike 
Hodges?" 

John  looked  out  of  the  window  a  moment  before  re 
plying.  He  was  thinking  of  his  father  and  his  untimely 
end  and  of  the  tragic  death  of  his  mother.  He  wondered 
if  it  would  be  well  to  speak  of  his  strong  suspicions  as  to 
Hodges'  guilt ;  he  had  made  up  his  mind  not  to,  but  in 
the  meantime  King's  anger  vanished  and  he  said,  "  I'll 
make  the  condition  that  you  ask  in  the  way  you  ask, 
that  is,  man  to  man." 

And  John,  seeing  something  generous  in  the  words, 
voiced  his  thanks  and  then  said,  "My  father  was  shot 
when  I  was  a  boy  of  eight.  It  is  my  uncle's  opinion,  as 
it  is  mine,  that  Hodges  was  responsible  for  his  death. 
I  hope  one  day  to  even  things  up  with  him." 

King,  reading  the  tragedy  in  John's  eyes  and  wishing 
to  change  the  subject,  said,  "  The  trust  will  jump  on  our 
patents  and  do  everything  possible  to  stop  us.  But 
speaking  of  patents,  you  likened  the  movement  of  your 
matrix  to  this  ticker.  Are  you  quite  certain  that  you 
can't  be  stopped  by  the  courts,  always  keeping  in  mind 
that  Playfellow  and  Lurgan  have  influence,  to  use  a  mild 
word?" 

"  I  know  these  men  are  the  most  potential  beings  in  the 
universe,  but  I'm  not  afraid  of  them  because  my  patents 
will  be  granted.  Telegraphing,  which  is  my  method,  is 
old,  and  so  is  electricity;  both  are  free  to  everybody.  I 
don't  see  how  they  can  stop  us." 


42  The  Mechanic 

The  old  man  of  Wall  Street,  as  he  was  sometimes  called, 
again  looked  searchingly  at  the  tall,  steel-like  figure, 
standing  so  sure  and  strong,  and  he  thought,  how  little 
the  boy  knew  of  the  world;  but  his  next  words  showed 
that  he  felt  more  than  kindly,  for  he  said,  "  If  the  Court 
decides  that  we  have  good  patents,  I  will  give  you  all  the 
money  you  want  to  fight  the  trust,  as  of  course  I'll  want 
you  to  manage  our  company.  But  I  do  this  only  on  the 
condition  that  you  don't  ask  for  money  in  advance,  and 
that  you  and  Riddell  look  after  the  patent  question  until 
it  is  finally  decided."  And  before  John  could  answer 
he  asked,  "  Is  your  disc  or  matrix  made  of  copper  ?  " 

"It  is." 

"  Isn't  that  metal  soft  and  won't  it  wear  easily  ?  " 

Speaking  very  quietly  and  enunciating  each  word  care 
fully,  John  replied,  "  I  have  discovered  a  method  of  harden 
ing  copper;  of  making  it  as  hard  as  nickel." 

Then  John  stopped  and  looked  at  King,  who  inquired, 
"  Isn't  that  a  great  discovery  ?  " 

"I  believe  it  is." 

"  Can  you  patent  your  process  ?  " 

"  I  hope  to  one  day.  I  stumbled  across  the  scheme  to 
harden  copper  in  my  work  on  steel.  You  see  my  father 
had  a  way  of  converting  iron  stone  into  steel  pigs  at  one 
process,  and  this  has  been  my  study  at  the  laboratory  in 
Columbia."  Seeing  that  his  listener  was  slightly  incred 
ulous,  John  went  on  with  a  laugh,  "I'm  afraid  I  have 
talked  too  much  —  good  day,"  and  John  started  toward 
the  door.  But  King  stopped  him  to  say,  "What  about 
your  interest?  Shall  we  say  a  fourth  to  the  inventor?" 
And  John  again  voiced  his  thanks  and  went  home  very 
much  pleased  with  his  day's  work,  for  he  knew  that  King 
was  practically  the  only  force  in  the  country  that  George 


King,  the  Great  Wall  Street  Manipulator  43 

Playfellow,  Joseph  Lurgan,  and  Thomas  Hodges  had  not 
put  harness  upon. 

They  would  have  bought  any  machine,  valuable  or 
worthless,  that  King  brought  them,  and  at  whatever  price 
asked,  with  the  hope  of  winning  his  favor.  For  these  three 
men,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  they  controlled  banks, 
oil,  steel,  copper,  and  railroads,  were  afraid,  desperately 
afraid  of  King's  terrible  attacks  on  the  watered  stocks  of 
their  institutions.  They  realized  they  had  no  way  or 
scheme  to  control  him;  he  was  a  solitary  individual  of 
great  wealth  who  loved  to  bear  down  like  an  avalanche 
on  these  big  folk  who  fattened  on  the  gullibility  of  the 
people.  King  had  no  love  nor  hate  for  Playfellow  or 
Lurgan;  they  were  his  spice  of  life.  Every  once  in  a 
while  they  would  try  to  break  him  in  the  market,  but 
these  attacks  only  left  King  a  little  wealthier  than  he  was 
before. 

King  never  tried  to  hold  a  stock  that  they  were 
hammering  or  to  break  it  against  their  powerful  sup 
port.  He  was  too  wise  for  that.  He  would  in  his  turn 
attack  another  of  their  big  industries  and  in  that  way  collect 
principal  and  compound  interest,  so  that  he  was  feared 
and  rightly  named  the  King  of  the  Street.  He  was  a 
breeder  of  fine  horses  as  well  as  a  manipulator  of  stocks, 
and  at  this  time  in  his  career  he  had  never  produced 
anything  that  could  be  rightly  claimed  as  a  benefit  to 
mankind,  but  he  had  indomitable  courage  and  he  also 
knew  what  the  word  "  truth  "  meant.  Not  for  the  gift  of 
the  state  would  he  play  to  the  gallery  of  public  opinion 
as  did  Lurgan  and  Playfellow  when  they  wished  to  cover 
up  some  gigantic  steal.  After  a  big  coup  from  the  public, 
Lurgan  would  invariably  found  an  art  gallery  or  library. 
He  was  a  pirate  of  the  old  sort  but  perhaps  possessed  a 


44  The  Mechanic 

principle  or  two  that  was  not  inundated  with  the  passion 
of  money-getting. 

But  his  partner  in  all  great  enterprises,  Playfellow,  was 
much  more  thorough  —  he  possessed  a  faculty  for  amass 
ing  wealth  that  amounted  to  a  disease.  He,  too,  gave 
money  to  universities,  but  in  small  lots,  as  he  seemingly 
hated  to  part  with  a  cent,  and  yet  it  was  rumored  that  he 
was  worth  a  billion.  Such  accumulation  spells  genius, 
and  he  undoubtedly  possessed  a  great  intellect  and  won 
derful  courage.  When  he  became  the  wealthiest  man  on 
earth,  he  appealed  like  Lurgan  to  the  commonwealth; 
but  not  in  the  same  way,  as  every  day  and  waking  hour 
he  chanted  to  the  people  through  his  God  and  theirs. 
He  appealed  to  the  goodness  of  the  Almighty  while 
he  sickened  and  deprived  hundreds  of  thousands  of  His 
followers  of  their  rightful  dues. 

Playfellow's  history,  as  written,  showed  that  he  had 
suppressed,  burnt,  and  pillaged,  as  all  great  conquerors 
have  done.  He  especially  loved  bribery  and  all  kinds  of 
underhand  dealings,  as  is  shown  by  the  way  he  handled  the 
large  railroads  by  making  these  great  corporations  give 
his  oil  a  rebate  so  he  could  stifle  the  earning  power  of 
the  small  producers.  Occasionally  his  schemes  resulted  in 
wholesale  murder,  as  in  the  case  of  a  copper  mine  that  he 
and  Hodges  floated.  It  was  an  old  shaft,  and  when  the 
ore  gave  out  they  sold  the  property  to  the  public  for 
millions.  This  was  such  a  fine  deal  that  Playfellow 
prayed  especially  hard  and  long  to  the  Almighty  for 
guidance  on  behalf  of  his  fellow-men.  But  in  the  midst 
of  this  prayer  —  it  was  on  Sunday,  and  he  was  at  home 
after  addressing  a  Sunday-school  class  upon  the  merits  of 
a  godly  life  —  he  received  a  cypher  dispatch  from  the 
superintendent  of  the  mine,  which  read:  "Struck  very 


King,  the  Great  Wall  Street  Manipulator  45 

rich  lead  of  copper  at  a  depth  of  five  hundred  feet. 
Wire  instructions  as  the  miners  would  make  find  public. 
I  won't  let  them  out  until  I  hear  from  you." 

Playfellow  immediately  sent  for  Hodges  and  before 
afternoon  service  they  arrived  at  a  decision.  Hodges  had 
said,  "We  have  sold  out  all  our  stock;  what  shall  we  do? 
We  can't  let  a  bonanza  of  this  sort  go."  And  Playfellow 
replied,  "As  the  superintendent  is  one  of  our  trusties, 
have  Bill  Sharp  'code*  him  and  then  on  Monday  give 
out  that  the  mine  is  barren.  This  will  permit  us  to 
buy  all  that  stock  back  for  almost  nothing."  And  Hodges, 
laughing  with  pleasure,  followed  these  instructions. 

On  Monday  the  public  read  of  a  shocking  disaster  in 
the  Williamite  mine.  It  was  reported  that  the  air  pump 
went  wrong  and  forty  miners  were  suffocated.  The  little 
word  "suppress"  which  Bill  Sharp  sent  had  done  the 
business  neatly  and  expeditiously,  and  Playfellow's  finan 
cial  turn  on  the  street  made  his  flabby  white  face  wear  a 
benign  look  for  many  a  day. 


CHAPTER  IV 

JOHN   DISCOVERS  THE   LOST   STEEL   PROCESS 

WHEN  John  reached  home  he  found  his  uncle  very 
anxious  to  hear  about  the  interview  with  Mr.  King. 

"I  tell  you  that  it  was  wise  not  to  ask  for  money," 
John  began,  "as  I  firmly  believe  that  he  would  have 
chucked  the  whole  thing  had  we  done  so.  As  it  is,  he 
gets  the  patents  and  we  get  one  fourth,  which  is  generous 
enough,  but  he  insists  that  I  make  good  on  patent  rights 
to  the  Court  of  Appeals  if  necessary.  And  when  I  have 
done  this,  he  will  come  out  into  the  open  with  the  machine. 
In  order  to  test  the  patents  I  am  to  build  and  sell  three 
machines,  the  cost  of  which  he  will  pay.  If  the  trust 
fights,  it  will  be  a  long  wait,  but  the  terms  are  his.  What 
do  you  think?" 

"  All  right,  my  boy,  it's  all  right.  It's  a  great  start  for 
a  boy  of  your  age.  I  should  like  to  see  you  beat  that 
man  Hodges  into  the  grave.  And  you'll  do  it  one  day, 
or  you  are  not  Peter's  son." 

"I  don't  think  I  shall  ever  forget  to  hurt  him,"  John 
said  in  a  quiet  voice  full  of  suppressed  force.  "  But  you 
left  your  mark  on  him,  uncle  ?  " 

"  Age  —  age,"  snarled  the  old  man,  holding  out  his 
right  arm  and  bending  it  to  show  the  working  muscles. 
"  It  was  a  power  once  and  I  didn't  give  him  all  it  possessed. 
The  pity  of  it  is  that  I  did  not  kill  him  when  I  had  the 
chance;  but  I'm  old  now,  boy,  and  getting  weak.  When 

46 


John  Discovers  the  Lost  Steel  Process      47 

I  go  downstairs,  I  like  to  lean  on  your  shoulder.  My! 
but  you  have  grown  big  and  strong";  and  getting  up 
David  went  to  a  desk  and,  taking  a  number  of  papers 
from  it,  continued,  "  These  are  now  my  pleasure.  When 
I  die  put  them  in  my  coffin,  John.  I  want  to  take  them 
to  Peter  and  Rennie,  so  that  they  may  know  that  you  are 
educated."  And  spreading  one  of  the  papers  out  on  his 
knee,  the  great  wreck  of  a  man  read  again,  as  he  had 
read  many  hundred  times  before,  the  announcement  that 
John  was  a  lawyer  of  New  York,  and  a  graduate  of  the 
school  of  mines  of  Columbia.  Then  he  read  that  John 
had  passed  first  in  his  class;  going  on  he  came  to  John's 
nickname  of  "  The  Mechanic  "  in  college,  and  this  pleased 
him  too.  With  a  smile  on  his  lined  face,  he  said,  "  Don't 
you  ever  feel  that  you  would  prefer  law  to  mechanics  ?  " 

"No,  uncle  mine;  law  produces  nothing.  I  am  going 
to  stick  to  the  family  calling.  Shall  I  continue  on  Mr. 
Pickwick  or  would  you  prefer  something  else  ?  " 

"  No,  John,  I  like  Dickens,  but  sure  you  don't  want  to 
do  something  else?" 

"  I  like  reading,  uncle,  and  you  know  that  it  is  a  new 
world  to  me.  Before  I  graduated  I  never  had  the  time 
to  read  a  novel,  so  they  are  pure  joy  to  my  mind  and 
heart,  especially  Dickens.  I  was  really  sorry  to  part 
with  Micawber.  Suppose  we  go  back  to  him  to-night 
and  see  if  anything  turns  up." 

David  laughingly  said,  "  He  was  a  daisy  and  I  like  him 
hugely.  But  say,  John,  Hodges  has  got  Uriah  Heap 
beat  to  death,"  and  then,  looking  at  his  nephew  with 
anxious  eyes,  he  cried  in  a  weak  voice,  "Look  out  for 
that  crowd;  they  maim  and  kill  to  obtain  their  end.  I 
know.  I  know  and  I  hear  a  lot  through  the  union  of 
their  cold-bloodedness." 


48  The  Mechanic 

"  Don't  bother  about  them  to-night.  Here  is  your  pipe, 
so  let  us  be  at  ease  with  Micawber." 

All  John's  evenings  were  now  spent  with  his  uncle, 
who  continued  weak  and  ailing.  It  seemed  as  if  he  had 
held  together  by  pure  will-power  until  John  had  grad 
uated.  David's  giant  strength  seemed  to  fall  from  him 
then  and  he  was  compelled  to  spend  most  of  his  time  in 
the  sitting-room  upstairs,  only  going  to  the  shop  occa 
sionally  to  see  how  John  was  getting  on. 

There  was  nothing  especially  wrong  with  him;  it  was 
merely  a  case  of  premature  old  age  brought  on  by  extremely 
hard  manual  labor.  He  had  given  to  Rennie's  child  all 
his  loving  attention,  and  he  was  now  receiving  the  same 
care  that  he  had  bestowed  for  so  many  years,  and  yet 
neither  ever  spoke  of  love. 

In  John's  youthful  days  on  Center  Street,  David  had 
tried  many  times  to  get  him  to  speak  the  baby  language 
that  he  had  found  so  delightful  in  Jersey,  but  after  the 
death  of  his  parents  John  never  again  said,  "  Me  will  — 
or  me  won't."  That  home  tongue  was  buried  in  his 
father's  grave.  It  was  a  long  time  before  John  forgot 
his  parents,  or  lost  the  gnawing  sense  of  bereavement, 
and  he  was  only  brought  to  realize  the  great  love  that  his 
uncle  had  for  him  by  the  slow  incidence  of  time.  He 
was  deeply  grateful  now  at  manhood  that,  though  raised 
in  the  midst  of  terrible  and  awful  squalor,  he  was  clean 
physically  as  well  as  mentally.  He  also  realized  at  this 
time  what  his  education  meant  to  him,  and  what  he  owed 
to  that  uncle  who  was  now  loosening  one  by  one  the 
sinews  and  tissues  that  had  hitherto  held  his  life  together 
in  one  compact  and  well-knit  whole.  So  he  gave  to 
him  that  which  David  already  possessed,  his  heart;  and 
the  lamed  man,  weeping,  sometimes  said,  "This  is  my 


John  Discovers  the  Lost  Steel  Process      49 

heaven."  But  even  in  weakness  David  never  forgot  to 
urge  John  to  discover  the  steel  process;  more  than  once 
he  said,  "  You  can  do  it,  I  know,"  and  "  Your  father  hid 
those  papers,"  and  again,  "  But  where  did  he  hide  them 
before  that  man  Hodges  killed  him?" 

In  the  laboratory  at  Columbia  John  had  tried  hard  to 
find  some  scheme  for  simplifying  the  process  of  making 
steel,  but  had  not  up  to  the  present  succeeded.  He  had 
studied  the  subject  practically  as  well  as  theoretically, 
and  while  working  on  iron  stone  he  had  found  a  way  to 
harden  copper.  As  yet  he  had  not  gone  far  enough  with 
his  tests  to  determine  if  his  was  the  only  way,  and  though 
a  scheme  for  giving  copper  a  higher  industrial  position 
among  the  metals  pleased  him,  it  was  not  altogether  what 
he  sought,  and  his  nature,  endowed  with  a  patience  akin 
to  that  of  the  Oriental,  would  not  allow  him  to  give  up. 
He  knew  how  the  Pittsburg  blast  furnaces  worked  so  as 
to  manufacture  steel;  he  stopped  working  on  chemical 
action  and  started  merely  to  study  and  ponder  on  the 
question.  That  a  fine  grade  of  steel  was  wanted  for  the 
higher  class  of  electrical  work  he  was  well  aware,  and  he 
knew  that  the  electric  people  paid  large  prices  in  addition 
to  the  duty  for  the  European  steel,  especially  the  kind 
that  came  from  England.  He  was  also  aware  that  the 
Krupp  armor  and  guns  were  superior  to  similar  articles 
made  in  America. 

The  countries  that  produced  these  superior  grades  of 
steel  did  not  possess  the  ore  field  of  America,  and  yet 
there  were  many  large  concerns  in  America  that  bought 
steel  abroad.  Consequently  there  must  be  something 
wrong  with  the  product  of  the  blast  furnaces  of  this 
country. 

John  was  too  young  to  think  of  failure,  so  he  pondered 


50  The  Mechanic 

on  the  steel  process  constantly,  reducing  each  and  every 
theory  that  came  to  him  to  its  fundamental  basis,  but  up 
to  this  time  without  success.  Again,  it  was  his  father's 
process,  that  which  his  parent  approved  of,  and  though 
John  was  only  eight  years  old  when  his  father  was  killed, 
the  boy  never  forgot  the  manner  of  his  death  nor  for 
whom  he  died.  So  the  dark,  swarthy  author  of  his  being 
meant  much  to  John  Worth,  more  even  than  the  saint-like 
picture  which  he  carried  in  his  heart  —  his  mother.  But 
he  never  spoke  of  either,  though  he  liked  to  hear  his 
uncle  talk  about  his  brother  Peter,  and  from  the  pictures 
woven  by  a  brother's  love  John  built  an  image  in  his  soul. 

David  said  once,  "He  wouldn't  scrap  as  I  scrapped. 
I  was  always  through  after  my  adversary  was  on  the 
floor.  But  Peter  was  different;  he  never  was  through. 
I  must  say,  though,  that  he  scrapped  my  way  very  seldom 
and  the  rough  characters  of  my  day  would  much  rather 
face  me  than  my  brother.  Peter  would  not  fight  unless 
he  had  reasons  and  I  never  met  a  man  that  had  a  better 
hold  on  his  temper.  In  business  he  always  smiled  when 
he  was  done,  but  that  smile  often  made  me  laugh.  I 
shiver  when  I  think  of  it  now;  it  was  so  cold  and 
merciless.  And  by  God  —  he  made  those  that  cheated 
pay,  and  pay  hard." 

John  had  very  little  spirit  for  the  gaieties  of  life;  he 
knew  many  girls  casually,  but  was  not  intimately  ac 
quainted  with  one.  He  was  not  in  the  least  shy  or  re 
served,  but  his  relation  to  women  was  purely  impersonal. 
As  a  truth  he  was  too  busy  to  give  thought  to  the  side  of 
life  usually  so  seductive  to  hot-blooded  youth.  The  only 
pleasure  he  took  outside  his  work  was  as  a  member  of  the 
committee  of  his  union,  and  as  an  officer  of  the  East 
side  political  club,  which  he  had  joined  to  look  after  the 


John  Discovers  the  Lost  Steel  Process      51 

interests  of  the  foreign  born.  He  saw  the  power  in  these 
organizations,  and  the  sense  of  power  always  seemed  to 
make  his  lungs  expand.  From  early  boyhood,  or  from 
the  time  that  he  had  assimilated  the  languages  of  the  East 
side,  he  had  been  called  upon  to  settle  disputes.  Perhaps 
it  was  this  early  training  that  secured  for  him,  when 
he  reached  manhood,  positions  of  trust  in  these  large 
organizations. 

At  twenty-two,  though  there  were  no  lines  on  John's 
face,  and  his  brow  was  not  seamed,  he  was  called  old  by 
the  community.  By  this  they  meant  wise,  for  his  judg 
ment  was  never  swayed  by  passion.  He  was  in  fact  a 
very  cool,  accurate  reasoner.  Add  to  this  his  fine  appear 
ance  and  it  was  not  surprising  that  he  grew  largely  into 
the  heart  of  the  East  side. 

When  John  had,  as  arranged  with  Mr.  King,  completed 
three  machines,  he  called  on  three  printing  establishments 
on  the  East  side  and  to  each  one  he  sold  a  machine  for 
five  hundred  dollars.  When  these  had  been  working  a 
few  days,  he  saw  a  prosperous  contracting  machinist, 
who,  after  examining  the  machines,  and  seeing  them  work 
perfectly,  told  John  to  go  ahead  with  his  advertisements 
as  he  would  build  all  that  were  wanted  for  two  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  each  as  soon  as  the  jigs  and  fixtures  were 
ready;  he  agreed  to  turn  them  out,  from  start  to  finish,  in 
three  months. 

Then  John  inserted  an  advertisement  in  the  Inland 
Printer  setting  forth  the  merits  of  his  machine,  and  this 
advertisement  carried  the  strongest  kind  of  testimonials 
from  the  three  printers  to  whom  John  had  sold  machines. 
This  was  the  first  intimation  that  Harold  Coutts,  manag 
ing  director  of  the  Printing  Machinery  Trust,  had  that 
"The  King"  had  appeared  in  its  new  form.  He  took 


52  The  Mechanic 

quick  action  by  starting  at  once  for  the  Oil  Building  to 
see  Thomas  Hodges,  who  was  one  of  the  owners  and 
directors  of  the  Machinery  Trust. 

When  Hodges  heard  the  name  of  the  inventor,  he 
interrupted  Coutts  to  say,  "  Worth,  you  say  ?  What's  his 
first  name  ?  " 

"John,"  replied  Coutts;  and  Hodges  knew  that  it  was 
the  son  of  Peter  Worth.  Recollections  of  that  name  did 
not  add  anything  to  his  complacency,  and  when  he  had 
heard  Coutts  to  the  end  and  had  read  the  advertisement, 
he  cried  angrily,  "Smash  this  man  Worth." 

Coutts  departed  happy  and  smiling,  firm  in  the  belief 
that  he  was  making  headway  in  the  affections  of  the  men 
who  controlled  the  greatest  money  citadel  ever  built. 
He  was  endowed  with  a  good  appearance  and  plenty  of 
push,  and  as  Lurgan,  Playfellow,  and  Hodges  were  the 
directors  and  principal  owners  of  his  concern,  he  promised 
himself  that  he  would,  as  Hodges  suggested,  smash  Worth 
soundly.  Coutts  had  some  reason  to  feel  elated  that 
morning,  because  he  was  not  forced  to  wait  in  an  outer 
office  for  an  hour  or  two,  but  was  at  once  ushered  in  to 
Hodges  in  his  private  office  and  not  into  one  of  the  many 
little  booths  with  numbers,  to  which  he  had  formerly  been 
taken. 

After  his  visit  to  the  Oil  Building,  he  went  to  the 
patent  attorneys  Whitehead,  Harlan,  and  Doyle,  and  in 
a  few  moments  was  closeted  with  Mr.  Whitehead,  the 
head  of  the  firm,  who  finally  said,  "  If  you  are  sure  that 
the  matrices  are  the  same  in  principle,  I'll  ask  for  an 
injunction,"  and  this  was  decided  upon. 

Legal  machinery  was  speedily  set  in  motion  and  the 
case  was  tried.  After  the  trial,  Riddell  called  on  Mr. 
King  at  his  hotel,  and  his  first  words,  "  Injunction  denied," 


John  Discovers  the  Lost  Steel  Process      53 

filled  the  old  man's  heart  with  pleasure  and  he  asked  for 
a  fuller  account. 

"  In  the  morning  I  shall  have  a  complete  transcript  of 
the  evidence  which  I'll  send  to  you.  Whitehead  is  as  clever 
as  sin  and  is  one  of  our  most  celebrated  lawyers.  It  is 
his  scheme  to  dig  traps  for  opposing  counsel  and  witnesses 
to  fall  into,  and  then,  in  a  perfectly  good-natured  way, 
give  them  a  hand  out  of  the  hole  he  has  placed  them  in. 
He  does  this  jugglery  to  show  the  judge  the  strength  of 
his  case.  I  well  know  his  methods  for  he  has  used  them 
on  me.  It  is  easy  for  him  because  he  studied  science  as 
well  as  law  and  is  a  mechanical  expert. 

"Knowing  Whitehead,  when  court  opened,  I  felt  sorry 
for  Worth  and,  figuratively  speaking,  I  looked  to  see  the 
gaps  in  the  floor.  But  soon,  very  soon,  my  sympathy 
had  switched  to  Whitehead,  for  I  never  saw  a  man  more 
completely  prostrated  than  he  was.  Worth  turned  him 
and  the  managing  director  Coutts  endwise,  then  he 
would  flap  them  over  sidewise.  In  other  words,  he  has 
forgotten  more  about  printing-machines  than  they  will 
ever  know,  and  as  to  mechanics,  he  is  their  master.  The 
manner  in  which  Worth  demonstrated  the  feebleness  of 
their  efforts  to  harass  him  makes  me  laugh  when  I  think 
of  it. 

"It  all  came  to  a  head  when  Worth  started  on  'prior 
art'  and  began  his  demonstration  that  'One  Type'  was 
completely  appropriated  from  former  inventions,  and  that 
started  a  discussion  on  special  mechanisms.  So  White- 
head,  a  bit  red  in  the  face  and  not  yet  quite  down  and 
out,  began  from  insufficient  knowledge  to  question  state 
ments  that  the  defendant  made.  Then  Worth,  who  had 
with  him  records  of  all  prior  inventions  that  affected  his 
assertions,  began  reading  from  issued  patents  the  points 


54  The  Mechanic 

he  was  making,  and  from  the  drawings  of  both  prior  art 
and  '  One  Type '  he  drew  his  convincing  parallels. 

"When  the  defendant  had  clearly  proven  that  'One 
Type*  did  not  possess  a  single  mechanism  that  was  new, 
he  began  photographing  in  words  his  own  machine  and 
showing  at  the  same  time  that  it  bore  no  relationship 
whatever  to  'One  Type.'  His  last  words  to  the  court, 
as  near  as  I  can  remember,  were, '  I  got  the  idea  for  "  The 
King"  from  the  stockbrokers'  ticker;  to  that  instrument 
and  to  electricity  I  owe  my  invention.  Not  one  part  of 
my  machine  in  any  way  infringes  the  "  One  Type  "  patents. 
I  have  here  an  offer  from  a  manufacturing  machinist  to 
build  my  machine  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  We 
shall  eventually  build  the  machines  for  one  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars.  We  can  then  sell  the  machine  at  a  big 
profit  at  five  hundred  dollars.  "One  Type"  and  "One 
Line,"  known  as  the  trust,  realizes  what  our  price  to  the 
trade  means  to  them;  our  machine  can  do  newspaper 
work  quicker  and  better  than  "  One  Line."  Our  machine 
can  do  book  work  better  than  "One  Type."  "  The  King  " 
can  also  set  a  line  of  type  better  than  the  best  hand  work 
that  was  ever  done,  because  its  justification  is  perfect, 
because  it  is  automatic. 

"'These  three  printed  pages  which  I  now  hand  you 
were  set  by  "  One  Line,"  "  One  Type,"  and  "  The  King." 
Look  at  them  and  I  venture  to  say  that  you'll  be  able  to 
pick  out  the  one  set  by  "The  King."  Note  the  spaces 
between  the  words  of  the  one  set  by  my  machine;  how 
regular  they  are,  and  how  perfect  is  the  face  of  the  type.'  " 

Then  Riddell  walked  to  the  window  and  looked  from 
his  altitude  over  busy  New  York;  he  heard  the  eternal 
rumble  from  the  street,  and  without  thinking  about  them, 
he  saw  the  twinkling  lights.  Turning  to  King  he  added 


John  Discovers  the  Lost  Steel  Process      55 

in  a  subdued  voice,  "Many  times  to-day,  when  Worth 
was  discoursing  on  prior  art,  he  had  need  of  the  books 
on  prior  inventions  to  illustrate  a  point,  and  he  never  let 
his  eyes  drop  to  the  table  where  they  were.  His  hand 
would  find  what  he  wanted  and  it  would  also  turn  the 
pages  to  one  wanted,  and  then  he  would  read  a  specifica 
tion  that  he  had  been  citing.  I  hope,"  and  Riddell  looked 
searchingly  at  King,  "that  you  followed  closely  what  I 
said;  his  hand,  without  the  aid  of  his  eyes,  would  find,  not 
only  the  book  he  wanted,  but  the  page  containing  the 
very  words  of  illustration  that  he  sought."  Riddell  stopped 
for  a  moment  and  then  continued,  "  I  have  heard  of 
mechanics  and  others  being  handwise,  but  I  never  saw 
such  a  thing  before.  It  made  me  feel  creepy,  for  the 
hand  moved  as  if  with  separate  life" 

Again  Riddell  walked  to  a  window,  but  though  his 
eyes  were  opened,  he  did  not  see  the  lights  nor  did  he 
hear  the  unending  roar;  he  was  thinking  of  that  wonderful 
hand. 

King  interrupted  his  thoughts  by  asking,  "Did  you 
notice  anything  else?" 

"Nothing  else,"  answered  Riddell,  "only  that  moving 
hand.  He  is  clever  as  a  lawyer  and  a  genius  in  mechanics, 
but  I  have  no  way  of  telling  you  how  cold  he  is.  He  was 
never  flurried,  he  did  not  even  show  a  glistening  eye;  he 
was  —  I  have  it,"  and  Riddell  smiled  —  "  automatic;  and 
yet  as  we  lunched  together  he  laughed  and  talked  as  a 
boy.  Then  he  is  fascinating  to  a  degree  which  I  have 
never  seen  before  in  a  man,  but  in  court  he  was  another 
person. 

"I  gathered  to-day  that  he  is  a  man  it  won't  pay 
to  cross.  Perhaps  Whitehead  annoyed  him,  though  he 
didn't  show  annoyance.  And  to-morrow,  or  whenever 


56  The  Mechanic 

the  proceedings  have  been  read  by  lawyers  generally, 
Whitehead  will  not  be  the  first  patent  attorney  in  New 
York,  as  he  was  this  morning.  For  this  day  Worth  killed 
his  reputation  as  a  leader.  But  I  must  be  going." 

At  the  door  he  turned  to  say  good  night,  and  King 
asked,  "What  will  the  trust  do  now?" 

"They  will  appeal  and  then  the  fight  begins.  But 
don't  forget  what  I  said  about  a  hand  that  can  do  its 
functions  independent  of  its  eyes;  that  means  unusual 
government  of  mind  over  body.  The  trust  men  are 
going  to  get  acquainted  with  John  Worth "  —  and  then 
Riddell  was  gone,  leaving  King  in  some  doubt  as  to  his 
precise  meaning. 

Meanwhile  John  was  telling  his  uncle  all  about  it  and 
enjoying  his  first  victory.  To  David  he  said,  "When  I 
get  the  printing-machine  going,  I'll  finish  my  work  on 
steel,  for  then  I'll  have  an  income."  But  John  did  not 
know  the  trust  people  nor  did  King,  as  the  next  morning 
they  both  read  an  advertisement  warning  printers,  under 
penalty  of  suit  for  damages,  against  ordering  "  The  King. " 

The  advertisement  stated  that  the  machine  was  a  clear 
infringement  on  their  patents  and  they  meant  to  protect 
themselves.  They  started  suits  against  the  three  printers 
who  had  installed  these  machines.  This  was  a  great 
surprise  to  John,  but  he  more  clearly  grasped  its  meaning 
when  outstanding  orders  for  his  machine  were  cancelled. 
He  then  looked  for  a  speedy  trial,  but  the  trust  did  not 
desire  speed  now,  as  John  soon  found  out.  King  waited 
the  final  decision  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  on  the 
patents. 

Only  a  faint  echo  of  this  fight  reached  Lurgan  and 
Playfellow,  as  the  Printing  Machinery  Company  was  a 
small  matter  to  them.  Hodges,  for  personal  reasons,  was 


John  Discovers  the  Lost  Steel  Process      57 

interested,  and  he  it  was  who  telephoned  Coutts  regarding 
the  advertisement  warning  printers.  "  Put  this  in  all  the 
large  papers  throughout  the  country  and  then  delay  the 
final  argument  before  the  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  all  you 
can,  and  in  the  direction  of  delay  I  expect  Whitehead  to 
do  a  great  deal." 

Early  one  Sunday  morning  John  started  for  Jersey  to 
see  if  the  flowers  on  his  parents'  grave  were  thriving,  and 
afterward,  as  it  was  only  a  short  walk  to  his  old  home,  he 
went  to  the  house,  though  he  knew  it  was  in  ruins.  Only 
the  wreck  of  the  factory  was  standing,  as  the  steel  com 
pany  that  owned  it  had  never  improved  the  land  or  used 
the  old  foundations.  He  soon  noticed  something  new 
nailed  to  one  of  the  walls  of  the  factory:  "This  property 
for  sale."  John,  who  would  have  liked  to  own  the  prop 
erty,  sorrowed  because  it  was  beyond  his  reach.  Presently 
a  few  drops  of  rain  warned  him  to  seek  shelter,  so  he 
walked  into  the  roofless  ruin,  and  going  through  the  old 
office  he  stood  under  the  opening  which  led  into  his 
father's  private  foundry.  The  iron  door  was  still  on  its 
hinges  and  was  held  open  by  a  stake  driven  into  the  earth. 

As  the  rain  increased  and  John  had  no  umbrella,  he 
stayed  where  he  was,  which  was  a  fair  shelter  from  the 
summer  shower.  In  front  of  his  eyes  was  the  top  hinge 
that  held  the  door,  and  as  John  looked  at  it  he  wondered 
why  it  was  made  with  so  large  a  surface.  Lowering  his 
eyes  he  perceived  that  the  bottom  hinge,  though  as  strong, 
did  not  cover  so  much  space,  and  he  marveled  at  this 
discrepancy.  Stooping,  he  saw  that  the  lower  hinge  was 
a  stock  size,  and  then  examining  the  other  more  carefully, 
he  noticed  that  it  had  been  constructed  with  care.  He 
gazed  searchingly  at  the  flat  surface  of  the  hinge  and 
pondered  over  the  waste  of  metal.  Then  quickly  taking 


58  The  Mechanic 

one  step  forward,  he  peered  at  it  closely,  but  age  and 
rust  had  obliterated  all  signs. 

Mystified  at  its  size,  he  picked  up  a  rock  and  struck 
the  large  face  of  the  hinge,  and  his  heart  beat  rapidly  at 
the  hollow  sound  it  gave  forth.  Then  he  began  tapping 
the  rim  of  the  plate  and  at  length  a  secret  door  in  the 
flat  surface  of  the  hinge  flew  open,  and  John,  now  excited, 
looked  into  a  receptacle  about  the  size  of  a  cigar  box, 
filled  with  papers.  Pulling  these  out  he  took  a  first  quick 
look  at  them,  and  then  he  put  his  hand  in  again  and 
found  a  short  bit  of  tubing.  Having  now  possessed  him 
self  of  all  the  contents  of  his  father's  private  safe,  he 
closed  the  door  in  the  hinge.  The  rough  drawings  would 
not  have  been  intelligible  to  an  ordinary  person,  but  they 
made  John's  heart  thump  with  pleasure.  Then  he  saw 
a  formula  which  made  his  eyes  glisten,  but  what  fascinated 
most  was  the  tube.  Swinging  his  hat  he  cried,  "Ah, 
father,  we  both  arrived  at  the  same  conclusion;  a  contin 
uous  converter!" 

John  started  for  home  in  order  to  examine  with  care 
the  papers,  which  did  not  contain  a  word  in  writing 
outside  of  the  formula.  But  he  knew  that  he  had  in  his 
possession  the  product  of  eighteen  years  of  labor  and 
thought;  he  also  knew  that  he  now  possessed  the  secret 
of  making  iron  stone  into  steel  at  one  continuous  melting. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE    FIGHT   WITH   THE   STEEL   TRUST 

BEFORE  his  application  for  a  patent  was  completed,  in 
order  to  gain  practical  knowledge  of  smelting  iron  stone 
to  pig-iron,  and  melting  iron  to  steel,  through  his  union 
John  secured  work  in  a  large  smelter.  Here  he  labored 
for  six  weeks,  and  then  for  three  months  he  worked  in  a 
Pittsburg  steel  mill.  Consequently  it  was  winter  before 
he  was  back  in  Center  Street,  telling  his  uncle,  more  fully 
than  he  had  given  in  letters,  the  story  of  his  absence. 

John  first  gave  the  shop  his  immediate  attention,  as  his 
college  expenses,  patents,  and  scientific  books  had  eaten 
up  his  five  thousand  dollars,  and  his  bank  account  was 
low.  In  the  course  of  a  month  he  had  plenty  of  work 
on  hand,  and  then  he  devoted  all  his  evenings  to  drawing 
plans  and  specifications.  John  was  a  rapid  writer  and 
draftsman  and  in  six  months  had  his  patent  on  steel  ready 
for  filing. 

He  then  called  on  Riddell  and  asked  him  if  he  would 
see  to  the  foreign  patents,  and  when  the  lawyer  had 
looked  over  John's  papers,  he  exclaimed,  "This  is  larger 
than  type-casting,  eh?" 

"A  bit,  yes." 

It  was  more  than  two  months  before  John  saw  his 
patent  in  the  official  gazette,  and  then  he  called  on  Riddell 
again  to  say,  "I  see  that  my  patent  has  been  allowed, 
but  I  dropped  in  to  find  out  where  the  type  machine  is." 


60  The  Mechanic 

"  I  am  delayed  at  all  points  and  I  can't  say  now  when 
we  shall  secure  a  hearing,"  answered  the  patent  lawyer. 
"But  can't  you  do  something  to  stir  the  powers  up?  I 
ask  because  I  read  that  a  certain  John  Worth  has  influence 
over  many  votes,  and  noses  count  in  our  broad  land  of 
freedom." 

John  laughed  and  was  going  to  say  that  he  would  help, 
but  he  thought  of  his  steel  process  and  the  probability 
that  he  would  need  all  his  influence  for  that  which  was 
life  to  him.  He  had  built  "The  King"  with  a  great  deal 
of  pleasure,  for  it  was  his  first  real  invention,  but  at  no 
time  did  he  look  on  it  as  distinctly  his  own  as  he  always 
thought  of  it  as  belonging  to  King.  It  had  served  a 
purpose  other  than  its  ultimate  duty,  for  it  had  brought 
him  into  contact  with  a  man  of  great  power  on  Wall 
Street,  and  in  order  to  get  King's  ear  in  a  friendly  way, 
John  would  have  been  satisfied  with  very  much  less  than 
one  fourth.  Now  in  talking  to  Riddell  he  felt  that  the 
final  argument  was  only  a  matter  of  time.  He  would  have 
liked  to  see  the  case  through  the  courts  as  that  would 
mean  employment  in  a  large  way,  but  he  did  not  care  to 
sacrifice  any  great  part  of  his  influence  for  the  type 
machine,  as  the  steel  process  was  the  true  product  not 
only  of  his  own  but  his  father's  brain.  Though  the 
type-caster  was  a  big  thing  in  its  way,  it  was  as  nothing 
compared  to  his  steel  process,  so  he  said  diplomatically 
to  Riddell  that  he  thought  he  could  help  a  bit  and  would 
do  all  he  could,  and  asked  how  this  delay  affected  Mr. 
King. 

"  Oh,  he  never  says  a  great  deal,  so  it's  hard  to  visualize 
him.  You  see  he  is  not  like  the  other  great  ones,  Play 
fellow,  Lurgan,  and  Hodges.  They  go  after  the  industrial 
wealth  of  the  country,  but  so  far  King  has  been  satisfied 


The  Fight  with  the  Steel  Trust  61 

to  view  their  game  as  a  spectator.  Now  he  has  taken 
your  machine  up,  and  if  that  goes  he  will  become  as 
insatiable  in  this  field  as  he  is  in  his  special  domain.  If 
I  may  say  so,  he  is  timid  of  this  venture;  at  any  rate  he 
wants  to  know  definitely  as  to  the  patents  and  he  is  hard 
to  advise.  I  say  that,  because  I  told  him  not  long  ago 
that  he  was  perfectly  safe  in  building  the  machines,  and 
I  think  he  was  a  bit  annoyed  with  my  suggestion.  I  did 
a  good  stroke  for  you  both  to-day  by  bringing  the  matter 
a  little  more  into  the  light.  Whitehead  called  me  over 
the  telephone  to  ask  if  our  name  for  the  machine  was 
purely  a  grandiloquent  one,  and  I  said  that  it  was  named 
after  its  owner,  James  King,"  and  with  a  laugh  Riddell 
added,  "  I  heard  a  whistle  over  the  insensate  wires,  so  I'm 
convinced  that  my  information  was  definite  news  to  him. 
You  see  your  East  side  is  not  so  well  known  as  the 
Sahara,  and  as  King  did  not  want  his  name  connected 
with  the  trial,  they  have  thought,  I'm  sure,  that  they  were 
fighting  merely  the  inventor.  I  have  taken,  as  you  see, 
a  leap  in  the  dark,  as  I  don't  know  how  King  will  like 
what  I  have  said.  I  hope,  however,  that  some  one  will 
go  to  him  with  a  bluff,  and  then  we  shall  see  King  with 
his  coat  off." 

But  Whitehead  was  not  concerned  about  the  type-caster 
when  he  spoke  to  Riddell;  he  was  securing  information 
for  Hodges,  who  had  also  read  the  official  gazette  and 
had  noticed  that  a  steel  process  patent  had  been  issued 
to  John  Worth.  He  then  called  up  Whitehead  and  told 
him  not  to  wire  to  Washington  for  a  copy  of  the  patents, 
but  to  go  there  at  once  and  investigate.  Hodges  said 
further:  "  I  have  heard  from  Coutts  that  Jim  King  is  inter 
ested  in  the  new  type  machine;  let  me  know  if  this  is 
true." 


62  The  Mechanic 

Hodges  waited  impatiently  until  Whitehead  returned 
with  a  copy  of  the  patent,  and  then  took  it  into  his  office 
and  read  it  carefully.  With  Whitehead  he  went  over  it  — 
specification  by  specification.  "Worth  has  nailed  up 
every  door,"  was  the  comment  of  the  lawyer,  and  Hodges 
answered  nothing  but  went  to  see  Playfellow,  to  whom 
he  said,  "Here  is  the  Steel  Trust's  coffin." 
.  Playfellow,  who  had  talked  with  Hodges  before  about 
the  Worth  patent,  replied,  "I  think  you  had  better  tele 
phone  Lurgan,  as  the  Steel  Trust  is  his  creation."  In  a 
short  time  Lurgan  was  listening  with  wide-open,  receptive 
ears  to  the  communication  of  Hodges  and  Whitehead. 
When  they  had  finished  he  exclaimed,  "Then  we  must 
buy  this  man  Worth ;  but  who  knows  him  ?  " 

"  Jim  King  does  —  Whitehead  was  told  that  he  is 
backing  Worth's  type-caster,  and  I  suppose  you  know 
that  we  have  a  suit  on  for  infringement." 

"How  do  we  stand  in  that  case?"  Lurgan  spoke 
peremptorily  to  Whitehead. 

"We  don't  stand  at  all  —  we  are  fighting  for  delay." 

"Can't  we  get  around  this  steel  patent?  I  don't  care 
a  damn  about  the  other,"  exclaimed  Lurgan. 

"I  have  studied  this  steel  patent  for  three  days,"  ex 
claimed  Whitehead,  "and  I  can't  see  a  weak  point  in  it. 
My  advice  is  to  buy  it." 

"I  suppose  he  is  some  low-down  brute  who  wants  a 
lot  of  money,"  cried  Lurgan,  "but  we  won't  give  up." 
And  then  turning  to  Hodges  he  said,  "  You  see  him  —  I 
don't  care  to  go  to  King  except  as  a  last  resort." 

When  he  had  gone,  the  prayerful  Playfellow  said  to 
Hodges,  "You  had  better  fix  the  matter  up  with  the 
inventor  as  Lurgan  suggests.  Give  him  stock  —  we  have, 
as  you  know,  a  lot  of  it  in  the  treasury.  Of  course,  tell 


The  Fight  with  the  Steel  Trust  63 

the  president  of  the  company  what  you  are  doing  so  that 
everything  may  be  in  order,  and  send  him  a  copy  of  the 
patent  as  well." 

Then  Hodges  went  back  to  his  office  and,  strangely 
enough,  he  began  thinking  of  his  young  manhood  and  his 
then  great  ambition  to  make  steel  at  one  melting.  This 
train  of  thought  brought  him  to  Peter  Worth  and  his 
death,  and  for  the  first  time  in  many  years  Hodges  shivered^ 
He  wondered  vaguely  what  the  son  was  like,  and  with  this 
thought  he  moved  in  his  chair  restlessly.  Through  Bill 
Sharp  he  had  heard  what  David  Worth  had  said  about 
his  brother's  death,  and  now  he  walked  up  and  down 
the  room,  not  with  remorse,  but  with  growing  anger, 
and  muttered,  "  I'll "  —  But  just  then  the  figure  of  Peter 
Worth  was  flashed  on  the  film  of  his  brain  and  he  didn't 
finish  his  threat  to  kill,  because  he  felt  a  tightening  of 
heart  and  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  he  realized  what 
acute  fear  meant.  At  that  moment  he  would  not  have 
faced  John  Worth  to  save  his  steel  stock;  and  his  all,  ex 
cept  a  million  in  oil,  was  in  steel. 

Coutts  went  immediately  to  see  John  and  returned 
promptly  with  the  announcement  that  Worth  would  not 
sell.  Whitehead  and  others  called,  only  to  come  back 
with  the  same  answer.  Then  Lurgan  interviewed  Hodges, 
and  at  first  the  great  financier  spoke  savagely  against 
John,  for,  as  became  a  buccaneer,  he  had  a  violent  temper. 
But  all  the  time  he  was  well  aware  that  the  situation  was 
serious,  so  he  called  on  King. 

"Look  here,  Jim,"  he  said,  "we  will  stop  fighting  that 
type-thing  of  yours,  if  you  will  arrange  with  that  fellow 
Worth  to  let  us  have  his  steel  invention  at  reasonable 
figures." 

Lurgan  did  not  realize  that  he  was  still  vexed  and  had 


64  The  Mechanic 

spoken  in  a  way  that  annoyed  King,  who  answered,  "I 
can  take  care  of  the  'type-thing,'  as  you  call  it,  and  I 
don't  like  your  manner  this  morning." 

This  information  was  given  in  King's  usual  velvety 
voice,  and  with  his  strong  hazel  eyes  looking  into  Lurgan's 
red  ones.  The  banker  and  promoter  saw  that  King  was 
likely  to  be  unpleasant  and,  as  that  was  the  very  last 
thing  he  wished,  he  apologized  by  saying,  "  I'm  sorry,  I'll 
begin  again.  Will  you  arrange  for  me,  Playfellow,  ant! 
Hodges  to  meet  Worth  here  any  time  to-morrow?" 

King,  somewhat  mollified,  replied,  "What  is  all  the  bother 
about  ? " 

"Worth  has  invented  a  way  to  make  steel  by  a  con 
tinuous  converter  or  heated  tube.  Perhaps  you  have 
noticed  that  dentists  use  a  little  furnace  electrically  heated. 
That  is  quickly  Worth's  main  scheme  —  as  in  one  place 
in  his  patent  he  calls  his  tube  an  endless  oven;  and  in 
this  oven,  which  is  controlled  by  automatic  devices,  he 
puts  in  his  air  and  his  formula.  Hodges,  who  is  the  best 
steel  chemist  in  this  country,  says  that  the  Worth  scheme 
will  work,  and  he  also  says  that  there  is  no  way  to  get 
around  his  patents.  Now  you  see  why  I  want  to  meet 
Worth." 

"I'll  send  a  message  to  him  and  will  let  you  know  if 
he  can  come  and  at  what  hour.  I  may  add  that  I  have 
no  interest  whatever  in  this  patent  of  Worth's.  I  say 
this  so  that  you  may  understand  that  I  have  no  control 
over  him." 

"Say,  Jim,  now  that  I  have  cooled  off,  won't  you 
handle  this  matter  for  me?" 

King,  remembering  what  John  had  said  to  him  about 
Hodges,  smiled  as  he  replied,  "I'm  afraid  I  can't.  I 
don't  mind  bringing  you  together,  for  I  like  Mr.  Worth." 


The  Fight  with  the  Steel  Trust  65 

King  made  this  statement  slowly  so  as  to  give  the  words 
point.  "But  that  is  as  far  as  I  will  go." 

An  appointment  was  made  for  the  following  day  at  two 
o'clock  and,  as  the  hour  drew  near,  King  was  curious 
to  see  if  Hodges  would  appear.  Only  Playfellow  and 
Lurgan  came,  and  shortly  afterwards  King,  with  a  feel 
ing  of  keen  delight,  introduced  John.  Then  he  said, 
"Mr  Worth,  these  gentlemen  want  to  buy  something 
from  you,  and  you  may  consider  this  office  as  if  it  were 
your  own." 

John  thanked  Mr.  King  with  his  eyes  as  Lurgan  began, 
"We  would  like  to  buy  your  steel  patent";  and  because 
he  had  noted  King's  deferential  manner  in  speaking  to 
Worth  he  said,  "  We  will  give  you  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars  in  common  stock  for  your  invention,  and  will  pay 
you  a  yearly  salary  of  twelve  thousand  dollars  if  you  will 
put  yourself  on  our  pay-rolls." 

The  prayerful  Playfellow  exclaimed,  "That  is  a  mag 
nificent  offer  for  a  young  man  of  your  age,  and  you  ought 
to  give  thanks  to  God  for  his  goodness." 

After  these  words  King  walked  over  to  the  ticker  and 
John  wondered  if  he  were  laughing,  for  there  was  a  sig 
nificant  movement  of  his  shoulders. 

In  a  perfectly  even  voice  John  replied,  "  I  came  here  to 
meet  you  gentlemen  with  the  hope  that  you  will  accept 
as  final  my  answer  to  your  propositions  and  those  others 
that  come  continuously  to  my  shop.  I  won't  sell  my 
patent  to  the  Steel  Trust  at  any  figure.  I  say  this  rather 
than  argue  on  the  value  of  your  offer." 

"Are  you  casting  a  doubt  on  our  offer?"  It  was 
Lurgan,  annoyed  at  this  sure-tongued  mechanic,  who 
spoke. 

"  I  am  merely  stating  that  I  will  not  accept  your  price 


66  The  Mechanic 

or  any  price,  but  if  you  wish  I  can,  of  course,  throw  a  lot 
of  doubt  on  your  common  stock." 

"What  about  the  salary?"  asked  Playfellow,  in  an 
unctious  voice. 

"I  don't  care  to  work  that  way." 

With  ill-suppressed  rage,  for  he  was  vexed  with  this 
common  mechanic  who  slurred  the  stock  of  his  steel 
company,  Lurgan  said  in  a  tone  of  warning,  "We  can 

fight." 

"You  certainly  know  how  to  do  that,"  John  remarked 
in  a  pleasant  voice. 

The  smile  that  went  with  the  words  put  Lurgan  in  a 
rage.  He  did  not  dare  to  vent  his  temper  before  King, 
who  stood  beside  the  ticker  looking  like  Fate,  so  he  modified 
his  voice.  "  But  what  are  you  going  to  do  with  the  process? 
We  will  take  good  care  that  you  don't  start  a  mill  in  this 
country,  so  why  not  sell  it  to  us  ?  " 

"  I  think  I  can  arrange  for  a  mill  all  right,  and  I  won't 
sell;  that's  flat.  So  with  your  permission,  Mr.  King,  I'll 
withdraw." 

King  walked  into  the  corridor  with  John  and  said, 
"  I  can  get  you  that  half  million  in  cash,  if  you  will  wait 
a  moment." 

John  faced  King  with  a  determined  look  on  his  face 
and  answered,  "You  are  very  kind,  but  I  won't  take 
money  from  the  man  who  destroyed  my  father.  As  you 
of  course  know  that  through  his  mill,  and  through  his 
initial  work  as  promoter  with  Lurgan,  he  is  to-day  the 
largest  owner  of  steel  in  this  country.  I  say  all  this  to 
show  that  the  five  hundred  thousand  would  come 
largely  from  him.  He  and  I  have  an  account  to  settle 
and  one  day  I  am  going  to  balance  it.  I  should  like  to 
use  his  own  method  of  business  destruction  first,  then 


The  Fight  with  the  Steel  Trust  67 

later  on  his  kind  of  violence.  Of  course  all  that  looks  like 
a  big  job,  and  perhaps  I  shall  have  to  forego  the  business 
end  of  my  programme,  as  that  may  be  too  big  for  me, 
but  the  man  to  man  part  is  on  a  much  more  equal  footing. 
I  am  frank  with  you  because  I  appreciate  your  kindness 
in  speaking  to  me  the  way  you  did  before  them." 

King  returned  to  his  office  and  found  Lurgan  and  Play 
fellow  with  their  heads  together  so  that  they  could  speak 
without  being  heard,  Playfellow  had  asked,  "  Is  King  back 
of  this  too?"  and  Lurgan  answered,  "It  looks  like  it." 
Then  Playfellow  added,  "  Let  us  break  him  on  the '  Street ' ; 
at  any  rate  we  can  keep  him  so  busy  holding  his  bank  ac 
count  together  that  he  will  give  up  ideas  of  erecting  steel 
mills  and  printing-machines."  When  King  entered  they 
shook  hands  with  him  affably  in  parting  and  said,  "  We  are 
sorry  we  couldn't  fix  that  little  matter,  but  adieu." 

When  they  had  gone,  King  busied  himself  arranging  his 
stock  deals,  for  he  did  not  like  Lurgan's  smile;  and 
King's  way  to  circumvent  them  was  to  give  an  extensive 
order  to  his  brokers  to  buy  Steel  Common. 

Playfellow  and  Lurgan  went  to  the  Oil  Building  where 
they  were  joined  by  Hodges,  and  it  was  decided  to  test 
the  practicability  of  Worth's  scheme.  After  three  months 
Hodges  called  another  meeting  and  said,  "This  bit  of 
steel  has  been  made  by  the  Worth  process,  and  it  is  the 
very  best  bit  of  metal  that  I  have  ever  tested.  No  matter 
what  test  it  is  put  to,  it  won't  crack  or  break  and  conse 
quently  its  resisting  power  is  very  great.  To  illustrate: 
a  steel  plate  of  his  metal,  eight  inches  thick,  will  stop  any 
known  projectile.  See  "  —  and  Hodges  took  a  silk  hand 
kerchief  and  held  it  up  by  the  corners  —  "  if  you  throw  a 
stone  at  this,  you  will  see  the  silk  bend  to  wrap  the  stone. 
Take  the  same  resisting  power  of  the  handkerchief  in 


68  The  Mechanic 

something  else  that  is  not  fibrous,  and  if  the  stone  doesn't 
go  through  it  breaks  the  object  at  which  it  is  thrown. 
Or  take  the  rubber  tire  on  a  vehicle,  which  is  perhaps  a 
better  illustration;  it  never  breaks,  and  so  it  is  with  this 
fibrous  steel.  A  shot  may  dent  or  bend  the  eight  inches, 
but  it  will  never  go  through  it.  I  have  now  told  you 
about  the  quality  of  the  steel,  but  that's  not  the  important 
part  to  us,  as  our  steel  is  good  enough. 

"The  Worth  method  would  cheapen  our  cost  of  pro 
duction  by  more  than  thirty  per  cent."  Hodges  ceased 
talking  in  order  to  let  this  fact  sink  into  the  calculat 
ing  brains  of  Lurgan  and  Playfellow.  Then  he  added 
slowly,  "  If  we  started  all  our  mills  with  this  Worth  scheme, 
our  common  stock,  which  is  not  to-day  worth  the  paper 
upon  which  it  is  printed,  would  pay  sixteen  or  seventeen 
per  cent,  and  in  three  years  it  would  be  selling  at  one 
hundred  and  ninety  or  two  hundred." 

The  three  men  looked  at  one  another,  for  they  owned 
many,  many  millions  of  this  common  stock  and  more 
could  be  purchased  in  the  market  for  nine  dollars  per 
share.  They  saw  the  stupendous  game  that  could  be 
played,  but  they  also  saw  the  "if"  in  their  path  in  the 
shape  of  John  Worth.  With  a  sigh  Lurgan  said,  "It's 
too  bad  that  fellow  won't  sell.  What  are  we  going  to  do  ?  " 

And  Playfellow,  looking  at  Hodges,  remarked,  "  Can't 
we  force  him  ?  He  has  no  business  holding  up  the  boun 
ties  that  God  gave  him,  and  I  think  he  needs  a  lesson." 
Hodges,  who  understood,  smiled  and  said,  "  I  understand," 
but  Lurgan,  the  robber,  did  not  understand.  He  knew, 
however,  that  both  these  men  used  means  to  gain  their 
ends  that  were  beyond  him,  so  he  got  up  and  quietly 
walked  to  his  office,  sure  that  the  Worth  process 
already  belonged  to  the  American  Steel  Trust  Company. 


CHAPTER  VI 

JOHN   EXTENDS    HIS   INFLUENCE 

THE  following  day  an  insurance  company  which  owned 
a  great  deal  of  property  on  Center  Street  wrote  to  John 
Worth,  stating  that  he  must  vacate  their  premises  by  the 
end  of  the  month.  The  letter  was  short,  peremptory,  and 
to  the  point.  Without  showing  the  letter  to  his  uncle, 
John  called  on  the  men  at  the  insurance  office,  with 
whom  he  had  always  dealt,  and  was  told  that  they  knew 
no  reason  for  the  order  which  they  had  received.  A 
glance  at  their  list  of  directors  gave  John  the  reason,  for 
there  he  saw  the  names  of  the  steel  magnates.  So  he 
went  home  and  told  David,  who  could  not  at  first  realize 
the  truth. 

"Why,"  he  cried,  "I  was  born  here,  and  many  times 
we  could  have  bought  the  place,  but  the  insurance  people 
were  always  so  pleasant,  and  their  rent  so  reasonable, 
that  we  looked  on  them  as  friends.  And  friends  they 
were,  too,  as  more  than  once,  in  hard  times,  they  let  us 
take  our  own  time  to  pay  the  rent.  There  must  be  some 
mistake."  David  called  on  his  landlord  of  many  years, 
only  to  find  that  he  had  to  move  on. 

It  was  the  Steel  men's  first  underhand  blow  and  it  had 
a  bad  effect  on  David,  who  now  seemed  to  cling  to  the 
old  place  as  a  child  holds  to  its  mother.  He  would  get 
up  at  night  and  wander  about,  and  once  John  found  him 
crying.  John  at  once  sought  new  quarters  with  the  hope 


70  The  Mechanic 

that  a  quick  severance  would  help  his  uncle,  but  any 
place  which  he  agreed  to  take  was  refused  him  the  next 
day.  At  last  he  noticed  that  he  was  shadowed.  But 
landlords  that  Playfellow  and  Hodges  could  control  did 
not  own  the  entire  East  side,  and  finally  John  secured 
a  small  place.  When  moving  day  came  and  all  the 
tools  had  been  taken  away,  John  turned  to  his  uncle  and 
with  a  laugh  cried,  "  Come,  uncle,  it's  all  in  their  way 
of  fighting;  so  don't  bother." 

Then  John  saw  a  curious  look  of  happiness  come  into 
the  eyes  of  his  uncle,  who  answered,  "  Gee,  Uncle  David, 
me  div  'oo  normus  whipping."  As  he  listened  John's 
heart  stood  still,  and  when  his  uncle  laughed  happily  and 
boyishly,  the  awful  truth  dawned  upon  him  —  the  old 
man  had  lost  his  reason  and  fancied  that  he  was  the 
John  that  he  had  known  and  loved  in  the  long  ago. 
John  lived  ages  in  the  few  seconds  that  he  looked  at  his 
uncle,  who  was  taking  off  his  coat  and  saying,  "  'Oo  velly 
old  man,  Uncle  Davie,  but  tourse  we  must  do  fings  to  'oo." 

And  then  John,  entering  fully  into  the  spirit  of  his  own 
youth,  humored  his  uncle  by  calling  him  John,  and  cried, 
"  Come,  let's  go  to  our  new  home,"  and  David  now  went 
joyfully,  talking  about  the  city  as  though  he  had  never 
seen  it  before. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  East  side  knew  that  the  trust 
was  after  John  Worth,  and  now,  calculating  as  to  the 
future,  he  wrote  the  account  of  the  Worth  troubles  for 
the  foreign  papers  that  circulated  on  the  East  side, 
and  worked  hard  to  advance  his  influence  with  his 
union  and  in  his  political  club.  That  last  scene  with  his 
uncle  at  their  old  home  killed,  perhaps,  the  last  spark  of 
gentleness  that  John  possessed  outside  of  his  love  for  his 
demented  uncle,  and  he  now  struggled  for  power.  As  he 


John  Extends  His  Influence  71 

possessed  a  most  attractive  personality,  and  also  for  the 
reason  that  the  mighty  rich  were  against  him,  the  East 
side  folks  gave  him  their  warmest  esteem  and  sympathy. 

After  John  had  been  six  months  in  his  new  quarters, 
through  the  union  he  heard  that  the  trust  people  were 
making  steel  his  way  at  one  of  their  mills  in  Pittsburg. 
At  once  he  began  an  action  and,  six  months  later,  before 
Judge  Williams  of  Brooklyn,  who  had  heard  his  other 
case,  he  was  given  a  favorable  decision.  Then  the  Steel 
people  appealed  and  began  to  delay  matters,  but  they 
knew  perfectly  well  that  one  day  the  case  would  come  up 
before  the  Court  of  Appeals  and  it  was  this  that  they 
feared.  By  means  of  delays  they  could  carry  it  on  in 
definitely,  but  as  all  cases  must  eventually  be  tried,  they 
worked  hard  to  push  Worth  into  the  ground.  Their 
purpose  was  to  crowd  him  so  hard  that  he  would  cry 
for  mercy,  as  all  the  others  had  cried,  but  the  man  they 
were  fighting  had  no  such  cry  in  his  soul.  His  shadows 
were  now  busy  keeping  work  from  entering  his  door,  and 
consequently  he  was  compelled  to  move  on  and  on  until 
at  last  he  and  his  uncle  were  quartered  in  the  Salvation 
Army  Hotel  of  the  East  side. 

Mary  Radley,  weeping  hysterically,  had  long  since  been 
sent  home.  John  himself  looked  after  his  uncle,  always 
keeping  him  off  the  street  as  much  as  possible,  so  that 
the  authorities  would  not  seek  to  commit  him  to  an  asylum. 
The  fact  that  David  now  thought  that  he  was  a  little  boy 
helped  John  in  keeping  him  in  his  room,  for  he,  when 
admonished,  would  say,  "All  right,  I'll  play  wif  me 
carwars  and  look  out  the  windel  at  the  peoples." 

Hodges,  who  had  John  under  his  particular  care  through 
Bill  Sharp,  who  was  still  his  trusty,  tried  to  get  the  Salva 
tion  Army  people  to  throw  John  out.  The  manager  of 


72  The  Mechanic 

the  hotel  spoke  to  the  head  of  the  organization,  "Little 
Mother,"  as  she  was  called,  who  told  him  to  show  Mr. 
Worth  and  his  uncle  every  attention  and  to  allow  them 
to  stay  as  long  as  they  liked.  When  this  message  was 
given  to  Sharp,  he  grinned,  feeling  sure  that  Hodges  could 
find  a  way  to  move  the  Salvation  Army. 

But  no  way  was  discovered  to  move  a  people  who  not 
only  preached  good- will  to  all  men,  but  practised  it  as 
well,  so  John  and  his  uncle  were  not  compelled  to  leave 
this  haven  of  rest.  Moreover,  the  manager  did  not  send 
them  a  bill,  for  "Little  Mother"  came  in  one  day  later 
and  stated  that  from  absolutely  reliable  sources  she  had 
learned  that  the  Worths  were  being  persecuted  and  he 
was  not  even  to  ask  them  for  money.  If  John  Worth 
should  ask  for  a  bill  it  was  to  be  given  to  him,  of  course, 
but  not  otherwise.  The  devotion  of  John  to  his  imbecile 
uncle  pleased  the  "  Little  Mother  "  and  she  desired  to  aid 
him  hi  any  way  possible. 

It  was  in  this  hotel  that  John  found  a  good  clean  home 
for  his  uncle  and  at  a  price  proportionate  to  his  earnings 
by  manual  labor,  for  his  enemies  had  finally  driven  him 
to  a  bare  living  wage  at  odd  jobs  wherever  he  could  get 
work.  All  the  big  factories  supplied  him  with  work  for 
a  time,  but  they,  too,  eventually  shut  him  off,  and  John 
knew  that  he  was  mercilessly  hounded  and  watched.  He 
was  made  to  realize  the  power  of  Lurgan,  Playfellow,  and 
Hodges,  but  he  never  complained  to  any  one  nor  did  he 
live  on  his  friends,  for  he  well  knew  that  his  hold  on  the 
East  side  depended  upon  his  qualities  as  a  man.  He 
secured  enough  by  hard  work  to  pay  the  small  amount 
that  the  Salvation  Army  charged  for  food  for  his  uncle, 
and  a  bed  for  both  of  them.  In  face  of  this  he  was,  if 
anything,  more  grimly  determined  than  ever  to  make  his 


John  Extends  His  Influence  73 

process  good  in  the  eyes  of  the  law,  and  then  to  make 
the  trust  pay  for  stealing  it. 

In  the  evenings  when  he  was  not  engaged  to  speak  at 
one  of  the  many  East  side  political  or  social  clubs,  he 
played  the  games  that  his  uncle  enjoyed,  and  after  the 
aged  man  was  in  bed,  John  would  read. 

He  heard  the  first  faint  roar  of  the  general  election  with 
profound  pleasure,  for  now  the  chance  to  advance  his 
case  was  coming.  He  knew  well  how  pregnant  in  possi 
bilities  the  East  side  was  in  election  time,  and  it  was  not 
long  before  he  was  asked  to  speak  in  Woking  Hall  before 
a  gathering  of  East  side  voters.  One  sentiment  in  his 
speech  caught  the  eye  of  Mr.  Wood,  the  president  of  the 
West  End  Club.  It  was :  "  In  this  campaign  we  will  pick 
out  men  who  will  best  serve  the  interests  of  the  country, 
and  we  shall  also  try  to  make  the  East  side  an  independent 
section  of  New  York."  These  words  were  marked  and 
sent  to  the  President  in  Washington,  a  New  Yorker  by 
birth  who  was  out  for  a  second  term. 

In  four  days  John  found  a  note  signed  by  Henry  Wood, 
dated  from  his  club,  asking  for  a  talk  on  the  political 
situation,  and  John  replied  that  he  would  be  pleased  to 
grant  the  interview  any  evening  after  seven. 

Wood  replied  in  person  the  following  night.  After 
talking  with  John  for  a  few  minutes  and  finding  that 
Worth  had  very  little  to  say,  he  made  up  his  mind  to  trust 
this  strong,  sterling-looking  man,  and  exclaimed,  "Mr. 
Worth,  the  President  and  I  are  friends  from  boyhood  and 
I  sent  him  the  speech  you  made  at  Woking  Hall,  and  here 
is  wrhat  he  says,  in  reference  to  it."  Wood  read,  "  If  you 
can't  secure  us  his  support,  get  him  to  come  to  Washington 
and  I  will  talk  to  him;  I'll  keep  any  appointment  you 
make." 


74  The  Mechanic 

John  heard  these  words  with  keen  delight  and  answered, 
"  I'll  go,  of  course.  Arrange  for  next  Saturday  at  three  o'clock 
or  any  time  in  the  morning.  It's  merely  a  question  of  trains. " 

On  Friday  John  received  a  wire  from  Wood  reading, 
"Three  o'clock  to-morrow."  He  left  his  uncle  in  charge 
of  the  manager  of  the  hotel,  satisfied  that  he  would  receive 
every  attention. 

Punctually  at  three  John  was  at  the  White  House  and 
was  received  at  once  by  the  President,  who  greeted  him 
in  the  hearty,  straightforward  way  that  had  won  him  so 
many  friends.  "  I  want  to  carry  my  native  city  this  fall," 
he  cried.  "  Can  you  help  me  ?  " 

John  replied  by  telling  him  first  about  his  steel  process 
patent,  and  concluded  by  saying,  "  I  simply  want  justice 
and  that  is  all  I  solicit  from  the  head  of  our  nation.  I 
am  fighting  big  people  and  they  do  not  fight  fair;  they 
steal  —  I  am  using  the  right  word  —  for  they  have  put 
my  process  in  five  of  their  mills,  and  they  must  feel  sure 
of  holding  my  case  back  forever  or  they  wouldn't  take 
such  liberties.  Now  you  alone  can  arrange  to  have  my 
appeal  argued  at  the  fall  term,  because  you  have  appointed 
all  these  federal  judges  to  office,  and  at  a  request  from 
you  they  will  clear  up  the  calendar  and  bring  my  case 
forward  where  it  belongs."  Here  John  paused  to  give 
the  President  time  to  think  over  what  he  said,  knowing 
well  that  he  had  asked  a  great  deal. 

But  presently  he  began  speaking  about  the  East  side 
and  soon  they  were  laughing  together.  When  he  felt 
his  visit  over,  John  said,  "I'll  try  and  make  your  native 
city  appreciate  concretely  its  native  son." 

When  John  was  talking  about  his  steel  patent,  the  Presi 
dent  was  thinking  of  the  campaign  fund,  but  mercenary 
impulses  did  not  thrive  in  his  mind,  so  he  said,  offering  his 


John  Extends  His  Influence  75 

hand  to  John,  "  And  I  now  promise  that  your  appeal  will 
be  argued  in  October.  I  say  this  openly,  for  I  feel  that 
I  can  trust  you." 

John  was,  of  course,  shadowed  to  Washington,  and  a 
wire  was  sent  to  Bill  Sharp,  which  read,  "Patent  with 
number  one  "  —  which  translated  was  that  "  John  Worth 
was  closeted  with  the  President."  Very  soon  after  the 
receipt  of  the  wire  by  Sharp,  it  was  in  the  hands  of  Hodges, 
who  at  once  interviewed  Playfellow.  Here  was  a  move 
entirely  unexpected,  and  it  made  both  Hodges  and  the 
prayerful  Playfellow  think  very  hard. 

These  two  men  were  now  very  well  acquainted  with  the 
kind  of  man  they  were  fighting,  and  for  a  moment  they 
were  in  doubt  as  to  their  next  move.  It  was  decided  to 
get  Lurgan,  who  knew  the  President  and  was  also  a 
native  of  New  York,  to  call  upon  the  head  of  the  nation. 
On  Monday,  Lurgan,  somewhat  averse  to  appearing  in 
such  a  matter,  finally  consented,  and  having  made  an 
engagement  over  the  telephone,  called  on  the  President. 
They  shook  hands  pleasantly;  both  were  strong,  energetic, 
capable,  and  they  possessed  many  traits  in  common. 
Lurgan  had  followed  his  father's  footsteps  of  banking 
and  had  developed  a  bank  of  some  standing  into  a  financial 
institution  which  was  known  over  the  whole  world,  not 
as  a  bank,  but  as  Lurgan. 

The  President  had  followed  politics  and  he  had  more 
than  made  good.  Both  had  been  reared  in  New  York,  which 
is  an  education  in  itself,  and  they  were  infinitely  brave 
and  daring  and  they  were  both  liked  by  the  people.  The 
way  Lurgan  held  up  the  industrial  stage-coach  was  an 
amusing  picture  that  gave  the  public  great  pleasure,  and 
the  manner  of  the  President's  wooing  of  the  nation  as  a 
bride  made  all  love  him.  But  the  two  now  looking  into 


76  The  Mechanic 

each  other's  eyes  differed  on  the  money  question,  as  the 
President,  even  by  the  poor,  was  not  regarded  as  rich, 
and  the  nation  loved  him  because  it  knew  that  his  hands 
were  not  dirty.  Men  from  the  North,  South,  East,  and 
West  said,  "  Faults,  yes,  loaded  with  them;  but  he  is  clean 
right  through  to  the  bone." 

Though  the  public  admired  Lurgan's  magnificent  knack 
of  amassing  money,  they  could  not  say  that  he  was  clean, 
and  this  was  where  the  two  men  differed.  The  President, 
brought  up  in  politics,  soon  learned  to  fear  dishonest 
money,  and  he  had  no  use  for  underhand  dealing.  After 
Worth  had  departed,  the  President  found  out  through  his 
attorney-general,  and  by  a  talk  over  the  telephone  with 
his  friend  Wood  and  Dr.  Sawyer,  another  friend  on  the 
East  side,  that  John  Worth  had  not  told  of  his  own 
personal  troubles,  as  brought  about  by  Lurgan,  Play 
fellow,  and  Hodges.  Consequently  the  President  was  in 
entire  sympathy  with  the  noble  man  who  had  asked  him, 
as  the  head  of  the  nation,  for  justice.  He  knew  quite 
well  what  Lurgan  wanted  to  talk  about,  and  he  was  not 
disappointed,  for  the  banker  launched  his  subject  at  once 
and,  getting  warm  as  was  his  habit,  more  than  hinted 
that  help  to  Worth  meant  no  campaign  fund  from  Wall 
Street. 

The  President,  being  a  politician,  asked  how  he  had 
heard  of  Worth's  visit.  Lurgan,  who  did  not  wish  the 
President  to  know  about  the  sleuths  and  spies  of  his 
confreres,  told  a  lie.  "Oh,  he  is  a  common  mechanic 
and,  of  course,  brags  about  his  interview  with  you." 

Then  the  President  changed  the  subject  by  saying, 
"You  of  course  know  Dr.  Sawyer  and  his  church." 

"  Everybody  knows  him  —  a  good  pious  man." 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  you  say  that,  because  he  is  a  friend 


John  Extends  His  Influence  77 

of  mine,  and  his  daughters  are  intimate  with  my  wife. 
I  called  him  up  by  telephone  after  Worth  was  here,  and 
what  he  told  me  about  that  man  enlisted  my  sympathies 
wholly.  But  it  is  not  his  career  of  good  that  I  want  to 
speak  about,  but  another  matter  which  Dr.  Sawyer 
narrated  with  indignation.  He  stated  in  most  precise 
English  that  the  Steel  Trust  has  men  constantly  shadowing 
Worth  to  see  that  he  doesn't  get  work,  that  they  had 
driven  and  were  now  driving  him  from  pillar  to  post 
with  the  most  malign  hatred."  The  President,  with  a 
hard  smile,  went  on:  "  What  have  you  to  say  about  that?" 

Lurgan,  taken  by  surprise,  cried  out,  "That  is  their 
affair." 

"Quite  so;  but  you  have  also  told  me  how  you  got 
your  news  of  Worth's  presence  in  Washington." 

Lurgan,  now  fairly  caught,  became  angry  and  said, 
"  You  mean  to  help  him  then  ?  " 

"Yes,  and  also  for  the  purpose  of  showing  you,  Play 
fellow,  and  Hodges,  et  al.,  that  you  are  not  yet  running 
this  country." 

In  a  short  time  it  was  known  all  over  the  country  that 
the  President  and  Lurgan  had  quarreled.  John  read 
this  item  wonderingly,  and  then  he  started  the  work  of 
turning  the  East  side  vote,  firm  in  the  belief  that  he  was 
nearing  the  end  of  his  troubles. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE   DEATH   OF   DAVID 

As  soon  as  Lurgan  arrived  in  New  York  he  sought 
Playfellow,  and  in  strong  language  told  him  the  result  of 
his  interview.  "We  must  work  quickly  now,  as  the 
President  won't  help  us."  When  Lurgan  had  gone, 
Hodges  was  sent  for,  and  after  they  had  discussed  Lurgan's 
failure,  Playfellow  uttered  just  one  little  word  and  that 
was  "  Pike."  With  a  look  of  relief  on  his  face,  Hodges  said, 
"I'll  have  Sharp  telegraph  at  once  to  Oil  City."  And 
that  evening  Pike  read,  "  Oil  strong  New  York,"  which 
meant  that  he  was  to  take  the  first  train  for  New  York. 

When  Pike  arrived,  he  went  directly  to  the  Oil  Building 
and  sent  in  his  card  to  William  Sharp.  After  a  short  time 
he  was  shown  into  booth  thirteen,  and  there  he  was  re 
ceived  by  Hodges'  right-hand  man  who  at  one  time  had 
been  a  mechanic  in  Worth's  New  Jersey  factory.  Bill 
had  improved  considerably  since  the  day  he  received 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars  from  Hodges,  though  that 
scheme  had  failed  to  give  his  master  the  steel  process  which 
he  sought.  Yet  it  demonstrated  definitely  Sharp's  ability, 
and  with  this  snug  sum  he  was  soon  able,  through  his 
employer,  to  make  big  money.  Hodges,  with  the  greatest 
power  and  wealth,  continually  found  that  there  were  many 
little  Worths  in  the  world,  and  Bill  had  a  knack  of  dealing 
with  creatures  who  dared  to  build  fences  in  his  master's 
path. 

78 


The  Death  of  David  79 

Sharp  was  a  short,  thick-set  man,  with  a  large  nose, 
crafty  gray  eyes,  and  a  laugh  that  labeled  him  of  New 
England,  for  it  had  as  much  twang  to  it  as  a  mouth  organ. 
He  was  facile  and  unscrupulous  to  the  nicety  of  ripe 
judgment.  His  office  was  next  to  that  of  Tom  Hodges, 
and  on  the  door  one  read,  "William  Sharp,  Oil  Dealer." 
To  carry  on  this  fiction  of  complete  entity  in  himself  he 
owned  and  operated  a  number  of  pumps  in  the  oil  region. 
The  stranger,  on  going  into  this  room,  saw  only  one  door 
and  that  led  into  the  corridor,  but  in  the  corner  of  the 
room,  next  to  the  hall,  there  was  what  appeared  to  be  a 
large  clothes-press,  and  through  this  Sharp  had  access  to 
his  master's  room.  But  this  cabinet,  if  we  may  call  it 
such,  also  possessed  a  window  high  up  on  the  wall  side, 
and  through  this  window  Sharp,  by  electric  means,  could 
see,  without  being  seen,  the  occupant  of  booth  thirteen. 
For  this  little  darkened  room,  lying  along  the  corridor 
as  it  did,  took  its  space  from  Sharp's  room.  There  was 
a  door  leading  into  it  from  the  hall,  and  also  a  small  door 
opening  into  it  from  the  cabinet. 

By  previous  arrangement  Pike  was  shown  into  this 
dark  room,  and  when  Sharp  had  satisfied  himself  that 
Pike  was  there,  he  walked  in  and  said,  "  John  Worth  at 
Salvation  Army  Hotel,  East  side.  If  you  understand 
and  have  memorized,  repeat."  And  Pike  said,  "  John 
Worth,  who  is  stopping  at  Salvation  Army  Hotel,  East 
side."  Then  Sharp  handed  a  package  to  Pike,  saying, 
"  Other  half  when  you  repeat  that  line  in  this  place." 
Sharp  then  went  back  to  his  room,  and  Pike,  a  thin,  wiry 
little  chap  with  wintry  eyes,  left  the  Oil  Building,  and  in 
half  an  hour  he  had  engaged  a  room  for  the  night  at  the 
hotel  designated.  He  was  rather  pleased  that  his  work 
was  of  so  simple  a  character,  as  on  many  occasions  he  had 


80  The  Mechanic 

to  remain  in  room  thirteen  for  an  hour  or  two,  to  memorize 
his  duties. 

He  knew  by  the  message  given  him  that  one  John 
Worth  stood  in  the  path  of  Oil,  and  that  he  was  to  dispose 
of  him  as  he  had  disposed  of  others.  In  Pike  and  creatures 
like  him  that  Oil  controlled,  we  find  the  explanation  for 
Playfellow's  immense  wealth,  for  he  possessed  the  very 
great  essential  of  being  able  to  look  on  men  like  Worth  as 
hindrances  to  his  growth  and  progress,  so  he  had  them 
removed  much  as  the  ordinary  person  would  insist  on  a 
mad  dog's  being  shot,  and  with  no  more  compunction. 
To  his  regret  he  was  compelled  to  observe  a  certain 
caution  when  he  undertook  the  work  of  suppression,  so  he 
surrounded  himself  first  with  the  necessary  help.  Then 
he  arranged  so  well  under  the  laws  of  America  for  his  own 
security  that  his  "  help  "  became  adepts  in  taking  care  of 
themselves.  For  instance,  Pike  felt  quite  certain  that  he 
had  received  his  orders  from  Sharp,  but  the  voice  was 
muffled  and  he  could  not  swear  to  that  fact,  and  as  the 
room  was  dark  he  could  not  see.  He  knew,  of  course, 
that  everything  was  all  right,  as  the  two  thousand  dollars 
which  he  received  was  the  best  kind  of  an  editorial  on 
faith  and  trust. 

If  he  were  caught  and  confessed,  as  some  did,  Oil  was 
no  way  implicated  as  they  always  dealt  through  an 
independent  like  Sharp.  Publicity  meant  nothing  to 
Playfellow,  as  his  history,  very  carefully  written,  laid  bare 
to  the  world  his  career  and  his  methods.  He  cared  not 
for  the  carpings  of  the  little  ants  of  life,  because  his  soul 
preached  to  his  mind  that  he  was  an  emissary  of  progress, 
therefore  of  God. 

So  the  Pikes  of  business  glorified  his  being  with 
pure  joy,  and  he  loved  to  hear  all  the  last  details 


The  Death  of  David  81 

of  a  life  that  had  wrought  him  worry.  With  some 
degree  of  eagerness  he  awaited  the  following  morning 
when  he,  too,  would  go  into  the  darkened  room,  and  if 
Pike  repeated  his  line,  he  would  then  be  asked  for  the 
whole  story.  This  particular  case  was  not  to  have  the 
usual  finale  in  the  booth  thirteen,  because  Hodges'  instruc 
tions  had  been  too  cryptic. 

It  was  necessary  for  Pike  to  find  John  Worth,  so  he 
waited  until  dinner  time,  when  he  asked  a  waitress  if 
Worth,  the  great  inventor,  were  in  the  room.  The  girl 
pointed  to  a  table  some  distance  away  where  two  men  sat, 
and  Pike  now  knew  his  work  was  easy.  So,  when  the 
men  indicated  were  leaving  the  room,  Pike  followed,  and 
he  heard  one  say  before  the  elevator  door  closed,  "  Uncle 
David,"  and  again,  "  Uncle  David,  me."  But  Pike  heard 
no  more,  nor  did  he  wish  to.  He  learned  what  he 
wanted  to  know,  and  he  watched  the  car's  progress  up 
wards  by  means  of  the  indicator  and  when  it  stopped  at 
the  fourth  floor,  he  sat  down  in  the  office  with  no  plan 
as  yet  formulated. 

Half  an  hour  afterward  he  saw  the  taller  of  the  two 
men  who  had  been  pointed  out  to  him  leave  the  hotel, 
and  then  he  took  the  elevator  and  got  off  at  the  fourth 
floor,  intending  to  ask  a  maid  for  Mr.  Worth.  Not 
seeing  any  one,  he  walked  down  the  hall  until  he 
came  to  an  open  door  and,  looking  in,  he  saw  his  man 
leaning  over  a  table  writing,  a  smile  upon  his  face. 
Pike  walked  boldly  in  and  said,  "  Good  evening,"  and 
David,  for  it  was  he,  answered,  and  went  on  drawing 
pictures. 

Pike  saw  his  opportunity  and  rammed  home  the 
knife  that  was  made  for  him  by  the  razor  people, 
expecting  to  see  the  head  drop  forward,  as  he  had  struck 


82  The  Mechanic 

on  the  left  side  and  over  the  heart.  But  the  knife  was 
deflected  by  a  bone,  and  as  he  jumped  from  his  chair 
David  stretched  forth  his  left  arm  and  caught  Pike  by  the 
throat,  and  in  death  David's  mighty  hand  held  tighter 
and  tighter.  Pike  struggled,  but  that  grip  closed  like  the 
gates  of  a  lock.  Half  an  hour  afterward  the  manager 
said  to  a  call  boy,  "  Go  and  play  with  Uncle  David,"  and 
the  youngster  ran  with  glee,  for  all  loved  the  man  who 
thought  he  was  little  John. 

A  wild  shriek  brought  many  to  the  room  of  death,  and 
there  they  saw  a  sight  that  was  fascinatingly  terrible. 
David  was  sitting  in  a  chair,  his  head  lying  on  the  table. 
In  his  right  hand  was  a  pencil  and  in  his  left  the  thing  that 
had  stabbed  him.  Pike's  body  from  the  hips  down  was  on 
the  floor,  and  the  rest  was  held  up  by  the  arm  that  had 
squeezed  out  its  life.  The  assassin's  eyes  were  protruding 
from  their  sockets  and  his  tongue  was  hanging  out  like 
that  of  a  tired  dog.  There  was  no  blood,  as  David  had 
bled  internally,  and  the  scene  told  its  own  dramatic  story. 
There  was  the  knife  in  David's  side,  and  there  was  the 
partially  hanging  body  of  the  assassin  held  by  the  arm  of 
the  giant. 

The  manager  raised  the  limp  head  of  David  and  read 
in  a  large,  scrawling  hand,  "  John,  don't  forget  the  papers 
for  Peter  and  Rennie,"  and  that  was  all.  The  manager 
put  the  paper  in  his  pocket  and  then  sent  for  the  police. 
The  assassin  was  carefully  searched  by  men  from  the 
station,  but  not  a  paper  or  mark  could  they  find  upon  him. 
In  the  early  watches  of  the  morning  John  detected  a 
faint  odor  of  oil,  and  then  he  suspected  that  this  was  a 
way  to  hurt  him,  and  that  night  he  did  not  say  his  prayers. 

Old  friends  of  David  and  John,  who  came  in  to  pay 
their  respects,  shook  their  heads  and  said,  "That  was 


The  Death  of  David  83 

intended  for  John;  no  one  would  kill  a  crazy  man." 
And  this  was  the  solution  of  William  Radley,  who  was 
now  cashier  of  the  savings  bank.  He  had  not  seen  much 
of  his  friend  lately,  for  John  persistently  kept  out  of  his 
way,  owing  to  Willie's  position  in  the  bank  which  he  did 
not  wish  to  jeopardize  by  friendly  intercourse.  Willie 
understood,  for  the  president  of  the  bank,  who  was  friendly 
to  him,  had  told  him  that  it  had  been  necessary  for  him 
to  report  that  Radley  no  longer  knew  John  Worth,  as 
otherwise  they  both  would  soon  belong  to  the  ranks  of 
the  unemployed.  But  to-night  Willie's  heart  was  sore 
for  his  friend,  and,  coming  to  a  quick  resolve,  he  left  the 
hotel  and  walked  down  the  Bowery  until  he  reached 
Mark  Lane.  Following  this  street  for  a  block,  he  came 
to  a  saloon  called  "  The  Frenchman."  Soon  after  going 
in,  he  was  saluted  by  Rochon,  the  proprietor,  who  said 
in  a  sad  voice,  "  Bon  soir,  Willie,  we  have  heard  the  news. 
Tres  mauvaise,  n'est-ce  pas  ?  " 

"  Is  Tony  in  ?  "  asked  Willie,  and  the  Frenchman,  with 
a  note  of  gladness  in  his  voice,  cried,  "  Do  you  give  the 
order  ?  " 

"  I  have  asked  John  many  times  to  do  so,  but  he  always 
shakes  his  head." 

And  then  Rochon,  in  a  voice  full  of  suppressed  rage, 
exclaimed,  "Those  thugs  from  the  country  are  an  insult 
to  the  East  side,  and  now  one  of  their  tribe  has  killed  a 
God's  man.  Come,  I'll  take  you  to  Tony;  he  is  in  the 
back  room  alone." 

When  Willie  entered  the  small  room  he  saw  a  swarthy- 
faced,  heavily  built  man,  with  a  disconsolate  air,  sitting 
hunched  up  in  a  chair  by  the  deal  table,  leaning  his 
head  on  one  hand.  This  was  Tony,  and  with  a  snarl 
in  his  voice  he  cried,  "  What  is  it  ?  " 


84  The  Mechanic 

"I  think  those  sleuths  ought  to  go." 

"  I  have  heard  that  many  times,"  replied  Tony,  relapsing 
into  his  dejected  attitude. 

"Why  don't  you  chase  them  out?" 

"I  can't.  I  promised  John  to  leave  them  alone,  and, 
well,  a  promise  is  a  promise  —  especially  to  him." 

Then  Willie  sat  down  and  started  to  urge  Tony,  but 
the  ex-prize-fighter,  turning  upon  him,  cried,  "  You  know 
that  he  looked  after  my  mother  when  she  was  sick  and 
buried  her  when  she  died.  If  he  should  walk  in  now 
and  say  'Chase!'  I  would  cry  for  happiness.  Bah!" 
exclaimed  Tony,  "  they  came  to  me  —  those  dogs  —  and 
I  have  wanted  to  kill  ever  since." 

Just  then  the  door  opened  and  there  stood  John,  who 
looked  at  Tony  and,  putting  his  hand  to  his  forehead, 
said  in  a  voice  that  clicked  like  the  turning  of  a  lock, 
"I'm  tired  of  them  now,  Tony." 

And  then  noticing  Radley,  still  in  the  same  hard  voice 
he  said,  "Willie,  see  if  Rochon  has  anything  good  to 
drink;  my  throat  cracks." 

Neither  Willie  nor  Tony  said  a  word  of  greeting,  for 
John's  face  was  very  white  and  there  was  an  intense  look 
of  pain  upon  it.  But  what  made  him  terrible  to  see  were 
his  eyes,  the  whites  of  which  were  as  red  as  though  enam 
eled  in  scarlet.  Both  Tony  and  Willie  were  so  startled 
with  his  appearance  that  the  words  that  sprang  to  their 
lips  on  seeing  him  were  hushed.  Before  the  drink  was 
brought  in,  Tony  had  disappeared,  fearful  lest  John's 
words  of  permission  should  be  recalled.  At  the  door  of 
the  saloon  he  turned  and  whispered  to  Rochon,  "  At  last ! " 
and  then  vanished  into  the  street,  only  to  return  stealthily 
a  moment  later.  He  noticed  a  man  watching  the  saloon, 
and  he  chuckled  with  grim  humor.  Soon  he  saw  John 


The  Death  of  David  85 

and  Willie  come  out  of  Rochon's  and  walk  toward  the 
hotel. 

John  was  saying,  "  Odd  that  Tony  cleared  out  so  quickly, 
as  I  wanted  to  impress  on  him  not  to  harm  the  watchers 
—  merely  to  chase  them  out." 

"  Oh,  he  understood  all  right,  as  we  were  talking  about 
these  thugs  before  you  came  in,"  Willie  replied,  "  and  he 
had  agreed  to  take  them  to  Broadway  and  tell  them  not 
to  come  back." 

"Sure,  Willie?" 

"Quite  sure,  John,"  and  Willie,  looking  sideways, 
smiled  at  the  street. 

The  next  morning  Hodges  read  in  the  morning  paper 
of  the  tragic  death  of  David  Worth  and  an  unknown, 
and  he  knew,  and  so  did  Playfellow,  that  their  scheme 
had  miscarried.  That  evening  other  mysterious  deaths 
on  the  East  side  were  reported,  and  the  following  morning 
a  dead  man  was  found  at  the  door  of  the  Oil  Build 
ing.  Investigation  showed  Hodges  and  Playfellow  that 
all  these  men  were  their  trusties,  or  Pikes,  which  seems 
a  better  word,  and  Playfellow,  for  the  first  time  in  his 
life,  felt  afraid. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

IN   MANY    COURTS 

AFTER  the  funeral  John  took  a  small  room  in  Center 
Street  and  eked  out  a  living  by  doing  odd  jobs  such  as 
shoeing  horses  and  plumbing.  Never  again  did  he  see 
a  shadow,  for  he  walked  secure  in  the  loving  eyes  of  the 
East  side.  And  Playfellow  knew  this,  and  he  prayed 
nightly  against  this  devil  that  balked  his  car  of  progress. 

It  was  the  middle  of  summer,  and  Steel  Common,  owing 
to  big  dividends,  was  soaring  higher  and  higher.  Though 
he,  Lurgan,  and  Hodges  owned  millions  upon  millions 
of  the  stock,  an  amount  equal  to  their  holdings  had  been 
foisted  upon  the  public,  and  when  they  were  in  readiness 
to  buy  more,  shortly  after  they  had  appropriated  Worth's 
scheme,  they  found  that  King  had  been  in  the  market 
and  had  quietly  purchased  an  immense  holding  of  the 
stock.  They  understood  this  move  to  mean  that  King 
was  trying  for  control  and  they  immediately  forced  the 
stock  up  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  by  making  heavy 
purchases.  But  a  great  question  confronted  them,  for 
they  well  knew  that  if  Worth  won  in  the  Court  of  Appeals, 
his  bill  of  damages  would  be  immense,  for  their  balance 
sheets  showed  to  a  penny  almost  what  the  Worth  process 
had  done  for  steel. 

There  was  only  one  thing  to  do  and  that  was  to  buy 
the  judiciary,  even  if  it  cost  them  a  few  millions.  But 
such  an  undertaking  required  courage  and  nice  work. 


In  Many  Courts  87 

Legislatures  were  fairly  easy  for  them,  and  so  was  man 
generally,  but  the  judges  they  wanted  to  get  at  were  men 
of  honor  and  prominence  and  all  three  were  federal 
appointments.  The  history  of  each  one  was  read  with 
great  care,  but  the  deeper  the  research  the  more  unim 
peachable  the  characters  of  the  judiciary  shone  out. 

It  was  Playfellow,  in  a  thin,  cracked  voice,  and  without 
calling  upon  the  Almighty,  who  suggested  seeing  John 
and  making  a  compromise.  But  neither  Hodges  nor 
Lurgan  said  anything  in  reply,  nor  did  Playfellow  again 
mention  compromise,  for  they  well  knew  that  the  man 
whom  they  were  hounding  would  hold  no  intercourse 
with  them.  This  was  the  terrible  situation  that  con 
fronted  them  when  they  heard  that  one  of  the  circuit 
judges  was  killed  in  an  automobile  accident.  Then  they 
saw  a  ray  of  hope  ahead,  especially  if  they  could  get  some 
one  appointed  who  could  swing  the  other  two  into  line. 

"  What  about  Judge  Bachmann  ?  "  Hodges  asked. 

"  He  is  too  big  a  gun  for  that  position,"  Lurgan  replied; 
but  Hodges  had  an  idea  that  was  growing  into  working 
shape,  for  he  had  just  remembered  a  remark  of  his  wife's. 
She  had  said  one  day:  "The  president  of  the  West  side 
trust  who  dined  with  us  last  night  told  me  that  the  Bach- 
manns  are  in  debt."  And  with  this  idea  in  his  brain 
Hodges  went  down  to  their  bank,  which  was  on 
the  first  floor,  and  said  to  the  cashier,  "Find  out  what 
paper  Adolph  Bachmann  has  out,  and  report  to  me  at 
once."  An  hour  afterward  the  cashier  gave  Hodges 
this  information:  "His  house  on  Seventy-sixth  Street  is 
mortgaged  for  thirty-seven  thousand  dollars,  and  he  is 
overdrawn  at  his  bank  for  two  thousand  dollars.  He  has 
a  note  out  secured  by  collateral  for  seven  thousand 
dollars." 


88  The  Mechanic 

"  Buy  note  and  mortgage  to-day  and  telephone  cashier 
to  press  for  payment  of  overdraft.  Again  I  say  rush, 
and  when  you  secure  Judge  Bachmann's  paper,  write 
for  immediate  settlement.  That  will,  I  think,  make  a 
call  on  you  imperative,  and  when  he  comes  let  me  know 
so  I  can  be  in  the  assistant  cashier's  room  next  to  yours. 
Say  pleasantly,  but  firmly,  that  if  you  don't  get  the  money 
you  will  foreclose.  When  you  get  him  sufficiently 
worried,  touch  the  call  bell  and  I  will  come  in  accidentally, 
as  it  were." 

Hodges  found  the  judge,  whom  he  knew  quite  well 
socially,  very  much  perturbed  over  the  cashier's  threat 
to  foreclose.  After  Hodges  was  appealed  to,  he  said, 
"  Come  to  my  office  and  we'll  talk  the  matter  over,"  and 
the  judge,  seeing  hope  ahead,  followed. 

When  in  the  office,  Hodges  exclaimed,  "  I'll  see  if  Mr. 
Playfellow  is  disengaged,  as  I  should  like  you  to  know 
him."  In  a  few  moments  Playfellow,  the  red  prince  of 
bribery,  was  talking  pleasantly  to  the  judge. 

"We  have  a  very  interesting  case  coming  up  in  the 
fall  term,  Worth  vs.  American  Steel,  and  as  we  are  very 
much  involved,  I  should  like  your  opinion.  For  the  sake 
of  peace  we  offered  the  inventor  a  million  in  cash,  but  he 
is  one  of  those  creatures  that  nothing  can  satisfy,  and  at 
the  time  of  our  offer  we  showed  him  clearly  enough  that 
his  one  melting  scheme  was  already  in  operation  and  as 
old  as  the  hills,  and  that  he  had  found  nothing  wonderful 
or  new.  Now,  as  you  are  a  great  writer  on  law,  I  should 
like  you  to  read  our  brief.  Of  course,  I'll  ask  the  cashier 
of  the  Unit  Banking  Company  to  go  slow  as  to  the  mort 
gage  and  note,  until  you  have  looked  over  what  our 
patent  lawyer  Whitehead  has  written.  The  law,  and  es 
pecially  its  last  word,  the  *  judge/  for  some  reason  thinks 


In  Many  Courts  89 

that  it  must  always  take  the  side  of  labor,  and  that  is  our 
difficulty.  Consequently  we  feel  that  some  one  ought  to 
be  appointed  to  fill  Judge  Alton's  place  who  really  knows 
not  only  law  but  the  great  country  we  live  in  as  well; 
and  this  is  the  steel  age,  you  know,  and  we  have  made  it 
that.  If,  then,  the  Court  of  Appeals  should  decide  against 
us,  you  can  readily  see  what  a  turmoil  the  country  will  be 
thrown  into  by  the  closing  of  all  our  mills,  for  we  shall 
be  compelled  to  do  that  if  we  lose.  As  I  said  before,  we 
would  give  a  million  to  avert  this  disaster,  but  I  can't, 
unfortunately,  deal  with  this  fellow  Worth  because  he  is 
so  unrighteous."  And  then,  smiling  at  the  judge,  Play 
fellow  added,  "  You  are  just  the  man  to  fill  Alton's  place, 
as  from  your  great  position  in  law  you  could  make  the 
other  judges  see  the  light." 

"  I'll  look  over  Whitehead's  brief,"  the  judge  answered, 
with  eyes  on  the  floor.  On  his  way  out  Hodges  said  with 
a  smile,  "  This  seems  to  be  your  lucky  hour  as  Playfellow 
has  taken  a  great  fancy  to  you."  The  judge  went  home 
and,  with  a  new  feeling  that  somehow  made  him  sad,  read 
what  Whitehead  had  written. 

The  following  day  Playfellow  made  things  a  little 
clearer  to  the  judge,  and  he  staggered  home  like  a  drunken 
man.  Going  to  his  own  den,  he  thought  the  whole  scheme 
over,  staring  in  front  of  him  with  hunted-looking  eyes. 
It  was  either  the  street  or  wealth,  and  he  was  now  waiting 
to  see  what  Hodges  would  write  him,  for  Bachmann's  last 
words  were,  "I  want  to  think  it  over;  in  the  meantime  I 
must  have  your  proposition  in  black  and  white,  every 
detail,  so  that  you  are  as  deep  in  the  mud  as  I  am." 

Playfellow  had  said,  "Of  course,  Judge,  as  it  is  for 
humanity's  sake,  I'll  have  Hodges  write  you  under  his 
signature";  and  this  satisfied  Bachmann. 


90  The  Mechanic 

Late  in  the  afternoon  Hodges  called  on  the  judge  in 
person  and,  handing  him  a  paper,  asked  if  that  would  be 
sufficient.  The  judge  replied,  "  Yes,  that  will  do.  Now 
go  and  leave  me  to  fight  this  out  alone.  If  I  decide  to 
take  the  appointment,  I'll  write,  as  agreed,  a  letter  of 
acceptance." 

When  Hodges  had  departed,  the  judge,  telling  his  wife 
that  he  was  very  busy,  sat  buried  in  his  papers  late  into 
the  night.  Bachmann  was  a  German  by  birth  and  had 
studied  law  in  Minnesota,  where  he  achieved  success. 
At  the  age  of  thirty-eight  he  married  and  came  to  the 
larger  field  of  New  York.  Here  even  greater  success 
crowned  his  efforts,  and  he  was  now  known  as  the  greatest 
living  authority  on  patent  laws  and  his  books  had  a 
wide  circulation.  He  was  at  the  moment  working  on  a 
many-volumed  history  of  inventions  and  of  the  laws  by 
which  they  had  been  safeguarded.  Having  started  this 
monumental  undertaking  five  years  previously,  he  would 
have  it  finished  in  another  year.  During  these  years  of 
research  and  writing  he  had  earned  very  little,  so  there 
was  a  continual  outlay,  and  his  wife,  a  favorite  socially, 
spent  a  great  deal  of  money.  To  meet  the  demand, 
Bachmann  was  obliged  to  mortgage  his  home,  and  had 
done  so  unknown  to  his  wife.  He  was  still  in  love  with 
her  and  was  now  selling  his  soul  so  that  she  might  sing 
all  day.  In  a  week  the  President's  attention  was  called 
to  Bachmann  by  a  senator,  and  he  was  appointed  to  fill  the 
vacancy  caused  by  Alton's  death. 

John  was,  of  course,  very  much  interested  as  to  who 
would  get  Alton's  place,  and  he  was  delighted  when  he 
read  of  Bachmann's  appointment.  Though  he  knew  him 
only  through  his  books,  he  admired  him  greatly  and 
thought  this  was  his  good  day. 


In  Many  Courts  91 

The  first  case  on  the  court  calendar  was  the  type- 
caster  case,  and  John,  with  keen  pleasure,  turned  to 
Riddell  after  the  judges  had  rendered  their  decision. 
"No  more  fences  now,  so  King  can  go  ahead."  But  he 
was  thrown  into  the  abyss  of  despair  by  their  decision 
upon  the  steel  process,  as  only  one  judge  was  for  John 
and  two  against  him.  He  had  lost  his  appeal,  and  when 
he  heard  this  he  was  dazed  for  a  time,  and  then  he 
smiled  grimly  and  said  to  himself,  "  I  see  now  why  King 
wouldn't  go  ahead.  They  have  bought  two  judges  and 
this  is  what  he  feared." 

The  favorable  decision  to  Steel  made  its  common  stock 
go  to  one  hundred  and  ninety,  and  Lurgan,  Playfellow, 
and  Hodges  almost  wept  for  pure  joy.  Now  every  mill 
was  ordered  to  put  in  the  new  process,  and  every  smelter 
was  instructed  to  fit  the  new  apparatus  for  removing  the 
dirt  from  the  ore. 

John,  true  to  his  promise,  took  up  with  energy  the 
President's  fight  for  the  East  side.  One  day  he  called  on 
King  by  request  and  the  old  man  said  to  him,  "I'm 
ready  to  begin  manufacturing  now." 

But  John  said,"  I'm  going  out  of  town  after  the  elec 
tion,  for  I  don't  know  how  long.  Riddell  is  familiar 
with  the  machine  and  I  should  think  he  could  effect  an 
organization  that  would  work  smoothly  and  well.  As 
I  cannot  attend  to  the  initial  part  of  manufacturing  and 
selling,  I  will,  of  course,  reduce  my  fourth  to  any  figure 
you  think  right.  In  this  connection  I  may  point  out 
to  you  that  we  have  not  as  yet  signed  any  papers,  so 
that  we  can  arrange  a  new  plan  here  and  now.  I  may 
also  state  that  Riddell  has  an  order  for  the  jigs  and 
fixtures." 

King  listened  to  John  with  apparent  interest,  and  then, 


92  The  Mechanic 

as  was  his  habit,  he  went  and  looked  at  the  ticker.  After 
he  had  viewed  the  latest  development  of  the  market,  he 
said,  "There  is  no  hurry;  I'll  wait  until  you  return  and 
then  we  will  make  our  own  machines.  If  you  will  give 
me  a  hint  as  to  the  kind  of  property  we  need,  I'll  buy  it 
now." 

John  told  King  of  his  father's  old  place  in  Jersey  and 
gave  him  a  few  points  as  to  the  buildings  required.  When 
he  had  finished,  King  said,  "  May  I  ask  why  your  return 
is  so  indefinite?" 

Knowing  that  he  could  trust  the  man,  John  exclaimed 
in  a  voice  of  suppressed  power,  "I  lost  my  steel  patent 
here  for  reasons  other  than  a  defective  invention.  If  type 
was  good,  steel  was  much  better,  as  it  was  more  funda 
mental.  So  I  am  going  to  Minnesota  to  open  the  case 
again.  As  you  may  know,  for  patent  suits  this  country 
is  divided  up  into  circuits.  I  am  going  to  another  circuit, 
and  if  I  win  there  the  trust  will  have  to  appeal,  which 
means  that  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  will 
then  have  to  try  the  case.  As  it  stands  now,  if  I  appeal 
I  will  have  to  pay  all  of  the  expenses  of  the  appeal.  As 
these  are  very  large  I  cannot  afford  to  do  so,  and  besides, 
I  have  picked  out  a  circuit  where  there  are  relatively  few 
manufacturing  concerns,  and  also  one  that  stands  high 
in  political  honesty.  I  may  be  absent  for  a  long  time, 
for,  of  course,  they  will  fight  every  inch  of  the  ground. 
If  I  fail  there,  then  Hodges  will  be  compelled  to  look 
into  my  eyes,  man  to  man,  and  answer  a  question  which 
I  will  put  to  him  about  my  father  and  uncle." 

"You  are  hard  to  down,"  King  said.  "At  any  rate 
you  have  my  best  wishes." 

Then  they  separated,  King  feeling  a  decided  yearning 
toward  this  grim,  determined  man  who  would  not  admit 


In  Many  Courts  93 

failure.  Then  his  mind  turned  to  John's  errand  West 
and  he  saw  what  that  meant  to  the  market,  for  now 
John  Worth's  name  was  fairly  well  known  all  over 
America;  and  King  looked  over  his  holdings  of  Steel 
Common  and  began  quietly  to  unload.  When  Riddell 
called  in  answer  to  a  telephone  message,  King  said,  "  Buy 
the  Jersey  property  that  this  memo  describes  and  make 
another  contract  for  me  to  sign,  giving  Worth  one  half 
instead  of  one  fourth,  and  put  the  Jersey  property  in  his 
name  as  well.  When  you  have  attended  to  these  matters 
I  will  give  you  directions  as  to  buildings,  jigs,  and  fixtures, 
and  other  matters." 

Riddell  was  greatly  pleased  that  John  had  penetrated 
a  heart  that  had  always  seemed  to  him  impenetrable,  and 
counted  this  feat  not  the  least  of  what  John  Worth  had 
accomplished.  When  the  lawyer  had  finished  making  his 
notes,  he  said,  "  I  should  like  to  know  how  to  help  Worth, 
but  he  is  hard  to  get  at." 

King  answered,  "You  can't  help  that  kind  of  man  in 
the  way  you  mean.  I,  too,  see  the  signs  of  an  empty 
pocket,  but  I  value  his  good  opinion  too  high  to  sacrifice 
it  by  an  offer  to  help." 

"You  are  right;  but  do  you  see  the  change  in  him? 
It's  too  bad  that  he  lost  that  suit;  I  suppose  he  will  pitch 
in  now  and  build  type  machines." 

"  I  suppose  so,"  King  murmured. 

"Are  you  going  to  the  Steel  Company's  big  dinner 
to-night?  They're  celebrating,  I  hear." 

"  I  am  not  going,"  said  King,  in  his  slow,  halting  way, 
"I'll  watch  for  the  election  returns  in  the  cafe  of  the 
Frontenac,  and  I  hear  that  the  East  side  is  going  for  the 
President.  I  tell  you  Worth  is  going  to  grow  one  of  these 
days." 


94  The  Mechanic 

When  it  was  known  beyond  a  doubt  that  New  York 
had  voted  solidly  for  its  native  son,  there  was  great 
rejoicing,  but  the  man  who,  more  than  any  other,  was 
responsible  for  the  noise,  the  clamor,  and  the  shouts, 
was  just  starting  to  work  his  way  to  the  West.  He  was 
sad  and  lonely  as  he  bade  good -by  to  the  streets  of  his 
New  York,  but  he  strode  on  into  the  unknown,  sure  of 
himself  and  sure  that  he  would  yet  make  his  country, 
through  its  laws,  admit  the  justice  of  his  claim. 

It  was  nearly  midnight  when  John  Worth  melted  into 
the  darkness  of  a  graveyard  in  New  Jersey,  which  held 
what  was  mortal  of  his  mother,  his  father,  and  his  uncle. 
Going  down  upon  his  knees  he  bade  them  good-by. 
In  his  heart  there  was  intense  grief,  and  there  in 
the  cold  wind  of  the  coming  winter,  he  wondered 
if  it  were  all  worth  while.  But  the  thought  was  only 
transitory,  for  he  well  knew  that  in  a  few  moments  his 
face  would  be  turned  to  the  West,  and  that  the  morrow 
would  find  his  soul  urging  him  on,  and  ever  on.  He 
turned  and  took  a  last  look  at  the  twinkling  lights  of 
New  York,  and  said  aloud  to  his  soul,  "You  have  been 
stirred  to-night  by  the  initial  impulse  of  all  things  —  love 
—  but  I  wonder  if  in  a  search  of  the  world  you  could 
find  another  soul  so  depressed.  All  those  I  loved  are 
here  —  destroyed  in  order  that  greed  might  live.  I  put 
you  aside  knowing  that  love  will  not  now  come  to  me, 
that  love  of  others  is  not  for  me.  I  am  but  an  atom  in 
the  great  scheme  of  the  universe  and  yet  I  am  an  heir  of 
the  ages.  Soul,  you  have  asked  for  justice,  because  that 
is  sought  and  won  now,  as  it  has  been  for  all  time.  Yet 
in  the  calendar  of  the  strong  man's  life  there  is  room  only 
for  success.  You  and  I  are  going  in  search  of  that  now, 
and  when  we  get  it  we  shall  have  our  accounts  made  out, 


In  Many  Courts  95 

and  when  I  see  the  final  payment  in  sight,  I  don't  want 
you  to  obscure  my  vision,  as  you  have  done  to-night, 
with  the  mantle  of  truth  and  honor." 

Putting  his  hand  on  his  uncle's  headstone,  he  con 
tinued,  "God  has  you  now,  uncle,  and  you  are  reading 
the  papers  to  your  brother  and  sister,"  and,  sobbing,  he 
added,  "  And  God  was  good  to  take  you  to  them  clothed 
in  your  right  mind.  I  have  your  last  words,  which  will 
rest,  when  my  turn  comes,  with  my  body."  And  the  wind 
sobbed  on,  as  he  faced  the  West  and  began  his  journey. 

There  was  another  soul  in  agony  that  night,  and  it  was 
not  a  clean  trouble  like  John's.  Judge  Bachmann  was 
suffering  the  tortures  of  the  damned.  He  had  sold  him 
self,  thinking  he  had  a  hold  on  his  tempters  in  Hodges' 
letter  to  him  detailing  the  compact  they  had  entered  into 
to  defraud  Worth.  And  though  the  fact  of  having  been 
bought  galled  him  and  was  ever  before  his  eyes,  so  that 
he  grew  nervous  and  wakeful,  he  thought  his  burden  was 
one  he  could  bear  to  the  day  of  his  death. 

When  he  thought  of  his  favorable  decision  as  to  Worth's 
type  patent,  it  pleased  him  as  a  toy  pleases  a  child.  With 
that  as  an  excuse  he  tried  to  quiet  his  soul  as  to  the  steel 
patent,  but  these  lapses  into  joy  and  content  were  but 
momentary.  Worth's  shocked  eyes  were  ever  looking 
at  him,  and  at  times  he  had  to  bury  his  head  in  his  hands 
to  lose  the  impression.  But  always,  always  his  thought 
ran,  "I  have  Hodges  as  a  partner  in  crime,  so  I'm  sure 
that  my  loss  of  honor  won't  be  known."  He  would  then 
read  the  letter  again  to  be  sure  that  it  was  all  there,  every 
detail  of  the  deal  that  made  him  a  criminal.  But  alas, 
poor  soul,  he  did  not  know  Hodges'  or  Oil's  way  of  hand 
ling  a  matter  of  this  kind,  but  his  awakening  came  election- 
day  morning  in  the  shape  of  a  letter  asking  him  to  come 


96  The  Mechanic 

to  the  big  dinner  at  the  Chateau  Frontenac,  and  this 
invitation  was  signed  by  Thomas  Hodges.  The  judge, 
with  knitted  brow,  looked  at  this  letter  as  if  fascinated, 
for  it  was  not  the  same  writing  as  the  other;  he  compared 
them  and  they  were  not  in  the  least  alike.  This  second 
letter  had  been  sent  to  the  judge  for  the  purpose  of  putting 
him  right;  to  show  him  that  Oil  never  tied  a  noose  around 
its  own  neck. 

It  was  a  pretty  scheme,  Machiavellian  even,  and  worthy 
of  Hodges  and  Playfellow.  It  was  one  of  their  little  ways 
to  block  investigation  into  their  methods  and  forestall 
possible  unpleasant  disclosures.  They  had  smiled  when 
the  unsuspecting  judge  fell  into  their  trap,  and  they 
smiled  again  as  Hodges  wrote  the  invitation. 

There  was  now  just  one  word  in  Adolph  Bachmann's 
mind,  and  that  was  "tricked,"  "tricked."  He  wrote  a 
long  and  careful  account  of  this  whole  transaction  to  his 
wife,  and  when  this  was  finished  and  signed  he  attached 
to  his  confession  both  of  the  letters  signed  by  Thomas 
Hodges.  Then  he  put  on  his  coat  and  called  on  Mrs. 
Hodges,  of  whom  he  asked  pleasantly,  "I  should  like  to 
ask  you  which  one  of  these  letters  is  in  your  husband's 
handwriting;  both  are  signed  in  full."  Mrs.  Hodges 
immediately  exclaimed,  "  Why,  that  one,"  pointing  to  the 
invitation.  The  judge,  thanking  her  courteously  for  her 
kindness,  went  home  and,  going  directly  to  his  room, 
shot  himself  through  the  head. 

Two  days  afterward  Harold  Tyndale  arrived  in  New 
York  to  find  his  sister  prostrated  in  grief  and  shame. 
She  moaned,  "  Oh,  Harold,  love  me  —  love  me,  or  I  shall 
go  insane."  Harold  Tyndale  was  himself  one  of  the 
leaders  of  the  Minnesota  bar,  and  though,  when  Adolph 
Bachmann  had  fallen  in  love  with  his  sister  Florence,  he 


In  Many  Courts  97 

had  at  first  interposed  every  obstacle  in  his  power  to  the 
marriage,  he  finally  gave  way  when  he  found  how  deeply 
his  sister's  affections  were  engaged.  But  he  had  never 
been  on  really  friendly  terms  with  the  judge. 

However,  he  allowed  no  trace  of  this  to  appear  as  he 
comforted  the  weeping  child-widow,  but  after  reading  the 
dead  man's  confession,  which  she  placed  in  his  hand,  he 
said,  with  a  tone  of  protecting  tenderness,  "After  every 
thing  is  done,  I'll  take  you  West,  and  there,  dear,  we  will 
begin  all  over  again.  You  will  be  housekeeper  as  afore 
time  and  I'll  be  your  brother  as  of  old.  Now,  child,"  as 
she  looked  up  with  streaming  eyes,  "  I  have,  as  you  know, 
always  considered  Adolph  weak,  so  I  was  in  a  measure 
prepared  for  the  disclosures.  But  I  was  not  prepared 
for  his  death;  that  shows  at  any  rate  he  was  a  man." 

And  the  sister  put  her  arms  about  her  brother  at  these 
words  and  sobbed,  "Oh,  Harold,  it's  good  to  hear  you 
say  that  much.  But  why  —  why  did  he  leave  me,  as  I 
should  have  loved  and  comforted  him  —  no  matter  what 
he  did."  Changing  her  mood,  she  cried,  "We  won't 
take  that  dirty  money,  brother,  and  you  must  make 
things  right  for  Mr.  Worth." 

"  Trust  me,  sister,  in  all  things."  And  as  if  in  a  reve 
lation,  she  saw  the  difference  between  her  brother  and  her 
husband,  for  the  words,  though  simple,  carried  with  them 
something  that  brought  a  little  sunshine  to  a  darkened 
soul.  Her  anger  against  Hodges  ran  hand  in  hand  with 
her  sorrow,  and  as  she  looked  at  her  brother's  face  with 
the  overhanging  brow,  and  the  dark  eyes  that  now  looked 
like  live  coals,  she  realized  more  definitely  the  great 
difference  between  the  only  two  men  whom  she  knew  well. 
She  saw  something  in  her  brother's  strong,  swarthy  face 
that  made  her  feel  that  Hodges'  fate  was  included  in 


98  The  Mechanic 

those  words.  "Trust  me,  sister,  in  all  things."  And 
she  was  not  wrong,  for  Harold  Tyndale  was  in  a  seething 
rage  at  the  scoundrels  at  the  Oil  Building,  whose  record 
of  evil  he  did  not  ignore. 

He  did  not  go  near  them,  but  he  swore  to  have  satis 
faction,  and  in  the  few  days  that  he  was  in  New  York  he 
tried  to  find  John  Worth,  but  he  could  not  trace  him. 
"I'll  take  my  sister  home,  and  come  back,"  was  his 
thought,  and  soon  they  were  in  Minneapolis. 

Going  to  Court  House  the  morning  after  his  arrival, 
he  met  a  friend  who  cried  out  to  him,  "I  have  a  bit  of 
news  that  will  make  this  a  hot  center  for  many  moons. 
Worth  is  going  to  bring  action  against  Steel  in  this  circuit. 
I  have  just  seen  him;  he's  a  fine-looking  fellow.  So  long. 
Glad  you're  back." 

Harold  Tyndale  smiled  at  his  friend  and  said,  "That 
is  news  surely."  Then  at  once  he  began  to  make  Worth's 
path  easy,  delighted  that  fate,  or  luck,  had  brought  the 
inventor  to  that  part  of  the  world  where  he,  as  a  citizen, 
had  considerable  influence.  Tyndale  was  a  prominent 
lawyer  and  had  secured  his  high  position  by  hard  work 
and  dogged  perseverance. 

He  was  a  silent  man  and  many  said  he  was  cold  and 
harsh,  a  few  thought  he  was  cruel,  but  the  public  at  the 
polls  had  reposed  faith  in  him  and  this  faith  was  never 
broken.  Honest  and  clean  himself,  he  demanded  those 
qualities  in  others,  and  his  career  showed  him  a  relentless 
enemy  of  the  public  boodler.  The  great  crime  against 
Worth,  which  had  involved  his  sister,  filled  him  with  a 
burning  desire  to  hurt  these  big  folk  who  had  wrecked 
a  life  he  held  dear  and  who  had  insulted  the  law  as  well. 

As  the  days  went  by,  something  told  him  that  his  little 
sister  was  fading  away  to  her  beloved  Adolph,  and  this 


In  Many  Courts  99 

knowledge  only  augmented  his  desire  for  a  terrible  revenge 
—  a  revenge  that  would  leave  a  gaping  wound  to  fester. 

He  called  upon  the  judge  who  would  first  hear  the 
Worth  case,  and  put  into  his  hand  Bachmann's  confession 
and  the  two  Hodges  letters.  John's  case  was  first  on 
the  calendar  for  the  spring  term  and  no  delays  were 
allowed,  because  the  judge  had  cried  to  Tyndale,  after 
reading  the  confession,  "  How  ghastly ! " 

John  won,  as  he  was  bound  to  do  where  justice  and 
honesty  ruled,  and  then  the  Steel  Trust  pulled  every  wire 
for  delay.  But  again  in  the  fall  term  no  delays  were 
tolerated,  and  one  December  morning  John  learned  that 
he  had  won  again.  Now  he  saw  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  land  before  him,  and  he  journeyed  East,  not  knowing 
Harold  Tyndale  or  his  silent  work  for  his  good. 

The  news  of  the  trial  occupied  pages  in  every  paper, 
and  King  followed  his  young  friend  through  the  long 
appeal  line  by  line.  He  followed  as  well  the  decline  of 
Steel  Common,  for  now  that  commodity  was  at  fifty  and 
King  had  made  the  biggest  turn  in  his  career,  and  he  was 
anxious  to  find  John  and  help  him  to  get  started. 

He  knew,  of  course,  that  Worth  was  very  poor,  but  he 
did  not  know  that  when  John  arrived  in  New  York,  in 
the  midst  of  a  terrible  snow  storm,  he  had  not  a  cent  in 
his  pocket.  But  the  heart  of  the  man  as  he  walked  through 
the  station  was  not  despondent.  In  truth  he  was  happy 
to  be  back  in  New  York,  and  the  fact  that  he  had  had 
nothing  to  eat  all  that  long  day  in  a  delayed  train  did  not 
bother  him  a  great  deal. 


CHAPTER  IX 


IT  was  about  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  when  John  set 
out  to  walk  through  the  snow  down  Madison  Avenue, 
on  the  lookout  for  a  job  that  would  yield  him  the  price 
of  a  meal.  After  he  had  gone  a  few  blocks,  he  thought 
of  a  plan  which,  if  successful,  might  mean  "supper." 
Stopping  before  a  large  house  on  a  corner,  he  walked 
boldly  up  the  front  steps  and  asked  the  butler,  who 
appeared  in  response  to  his  ring,  whether  he  wanted  the 
sidewalk  cleared.  Fate  must  have  been  pulling  hard  on 
John's  side  that  night,  for  the  butler  said,  "Yes;  and  if 
you  will  go  to  the  side  entrance  I'll  give  you  a  shovel." 

John  was  soon  hard  at  work  in  front  of  the  house. 
Just  as  he  finished  the  Madison  Avenue  side,  he  noticed 
a  carriage  drive  up,  and  he  laughed  lightly  to  himself 
when  Lurgan  got  out  and  went  into  the  house.  About 
half  an  hour  later  the  same  carriage  drove  away  with 
the  great  man,  and  John  idly  wondered  if  it  were  taking 
him  to  fulfil  some  important  engagement. 

He  was  now  near  the  end  of  his  task,  so  he  gave  all 
his  attention  to  it,  especially  as  he  felt  a  trifle  weak,  and 
chilly  also,  despite  his  hard  work.  When  he  had  finished, 
he  threw  the  shovel  over  the  fence  and  approached  the 
front  door,  hardly  realizing  that  he  staggered  in  walking. 
But  some  one  saw  the  reeling  man,  and,  as  she  had  been 
watching  him  at  work  for  some  time,  she  knew  that  he 

100 


Lurgan's  Daughter  Catherine  101 

was  not  intoxicated.  So  when  John  said  to  the  butler, 
"  I  have  finished,  and  if  you  will  give  me  twenty -five  cents 
I'll  call  it  square."  Catherine,  Lurgan's  only  child,  came 
into  the  hall  and  said,  "  Slater,  show  this "  —  she  was 
about  to  say  "  man,"  but  something  in  John's  appearance 
stopped  her,  and  she  concluded,  "this  gentleman  into 
the  morning-room."  At  the  door  John  moved  aside  that 
she  might  enter  first. 

When  the  young  woman  had  invited  her  guest  to  be 
seated  near  the  open  fire,  she  left  the  room,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  a  footman  brought  a  large  bowl  of  soup,  which 
John  took  with  pleasure.  Soon  the  footman  reappeared 
bearing  a  small  bottle  of  claret  and  some  biscuits,  and 
John,  looking  at  a  large  oil-painting  of  Lurgan  over  the 
fireplace,  smiled,  and,  as  he  was  very  hungry,  he  ate  the 
biscuits  and  drank  of  the  wine. 

Presently,  his  hostess  rejoined  him  and,  handing  him 
an  envelope,  said,  "My  father  always  gives  this  amount 
for  having  the  sidewalk  cleared."  She  added,  with  a 
smile,  "  I  must  put  it  in  that  way  because  you  said  twenty- 
five  cents  was  enough." 

As  Catherine  looked  searchingly  at  the  tall  snow- 
shoveler,  whom  she  had  taken  for  a  hot-house  flower  run 
to  seed,  she  saw  quickly  his  good  looks  and  the  hair 
streaked  with  gold  that  fell  over  his  broad  white  fore 
head.  She  observed,  also,  the  iron-like  firmness  of  the 
face,  and  the  strong  blue  eyes.  She  saw  that  he  wore  a 
black  comforter  wound  around  his  neck,  fastened  with  a 
safety-pin,  and  a  closely  buttoned  coat  of  thin  material, 
which,  by  its  plaster-like  fit,  made  her  suspect  there  was 
little  clothing  underneath  it. 

This  thought  reached  conviction  when  the  snow- 
shoveler  made  a  motion  to  put  the  envelope  in  an  inside 


102  The  Mechanic 

pocket.  Then,  changing  his  mind,  he  put  it  in  one  of 
the  outer  pockets,  and  when  his  arm  moved,  Catherine 
saw  the  working  muscles  rise  and  fall.  She  felt  certain 
that  the  man  before  her  was  in  extreme  need,  and  yet  he 
was  talking  to  her  as  if  he  were  clad  in  fine  raiment,  and 
did  not  know  what  hunger  was.  Catherine  was  puzzled, 
as  she  now  saw  that  there  was  nothing  seedy  about  the 
mind,  or  the  eyes,  or  the  bearing  of  the  man  who  had 
shoveled  the  snow  from  her  sidewalk,  and  she  wondered 
how  she  could  help  him. 

When  she  handed  him  the  envelope  she  had  meant  to 
say  a  few  words  of  the  sympathy  with  which  her  generous 
heart  was  filled,  and  then  dismiss  him,  but  she  found 
herself  talking  to  a  man  who  interested  her,  and,  with 
swift  feminine  intuition,  she  knew  that  the  pleasure  of 
these  moments  did  not  spring  solely  from  a  feeling  of 
compassion  for  the  man  who  was  but  a  moment  ago 
hungry  and  cold.  Catherine  was  puzzled,  because  she 
could  not  place  John;  she  felt  sure  that  he  was  not  a 
laborer,  and  he  certainly  was  not  in  the  least  like  any  of 
the  young  men  she  knew,  as  he  had  not  uttered,  "  Jolly 
cold  night,"  or  any  other  inane  phrase,  nor  had  he  appealed 
to  her  heart  by  either  word  or  look. 

The  man  met  her  searching  eyes  and,  divining  her 
mental  query,  remarked,  "I'm  a  mechanic,  and  have 
just  arrived  in  New  York  after  a  year's  absence";  and 
with  a  smile  he  added,  "I  shall  have  plenty  to  do 
to-morrow." 

"A  mechanic!  How  very  interesting!"  she  cried. 
"Please  sit  down."  Then,  acting  upon  an  irresistible 
impulse,  she  added,  "I'll  have  dinner  served  in  here,  as 
it's  so  cozy  and  warm." 

With  a  delicious  feeling  of  rest  and  comfort,   John 


Lurgan' s  Daughter  Catherine  103 

sank  into  a  deep  chair  and,  looking  again  at  the  portrait 
of  Lurgan  over  the  fireplace,  he  smiled  once  more. 

It  was  a  merry  little  dinner  for  Catherine.  For  the 
first  time  in  her  life  she  had  met  a  man  who,  assuming 
to  be  only  a  fashioner  of  iron,  talked  better  and  was 
more  interesting  than  any  other  person  she  ever  had 
known.  But  what  she  liked  best  was  his  laugh  —  it  was 
so  rich  and  boyish.  Looking  at  him  with  growing  inter 
est  in  her  eyes,  she  exclaimed,  "And  you  were  brought 
up  on  the  East  side,  and  never  have  lived  anywhere 
else?" 

Without  appearing  to  wish  to  invite  sympathy  by  his 
voice,  John  replied,  "My  parents  died  when  I  was  eight 
years  old.  Up  to  that  time  I  had  lived  in  the  country, 
and  after  that,  my  uncle  brought  me  to  his  model-shop 
on  the  East  side  and  I  have  lived  there  ever  since,  save 
this  year,  which  I  have  spent  in  Minneapolis." 

Catherine,  who  was  looking  into  the  fire,  her  chin 
resting  on  her  laced  hands,  felt  a  contraction  of  her  heart 
at  these  words,  and,  after  a  pause,  she  said  softly,  "My 
name  is  Catherine  Lurgan." 

There  was  such  an  obvious  request  in  this  announce 
ment  that  her  companion  replied,  "And  mine  is  John 
Worth." 

Catherine  did  not  move  nor  did  she  drop  her  eyes, 
which  were  fixed  on  the  fire;  she  sat  as  before,  with  un 
changed  countenance.  John  thought  the  name  conveyed 
nothing  to  her  and  idly  studied  her  profile.  But  Catherine 
knew  that  name;  her  heart  gave  one  quick  throb  and  for 
a  moment  she  thought  she  must  cry  out,  as  she  repeated, 
inaudibly,  "John  Worth!  John  Worth!" 

So  this  was  the  man  whom  her  father  and  others  were 
trying  to  drive  into  the  earth;  she  had  often  wondered 


104  The  Mechanic 

what  manner  of  man  he  was,  who  had  drawn  from  her 
parent  such  violent  abuse.  And  here  he  was  sitting  by 
her  side  like  any  other  man,  and  yet  he  was  not  a  type, 
but  rather  something  abnormal  and  not  to  be  classified. 
Her  thoughts  went  back  four  years,  to  the  time  when  she 
was  eighteen  years  old.  She  had  then  attended  a  dinner 
at  which  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hodges  were  present,  and  the 
conversation  had  turned  on  John  Worth  and  his  inven 
tion.  From  that  time  she  had  heard  the  name  of  John 
Worth  almost  every  day,  and  always  he  had  been  branded 
as  a  scoundrel  and  blackguard  of  the  worst  type. 

Only  three  days  before,  as  she  had  entered  her  father's 
dining-room,  she  had  heard  a  threat,  the  remembrance  of 
which  now  filled  her  with  fear.  Hodges  had  said,  "We 
must  get  rid  of  him  before  the  case  comes  up  before  the 
Supreme  Court."  She  had  heard  no  more,  except  an 
exclamation  of  protest  from  her  father,  for  the  two  men 
had  stopped  talking  on  her  entrance. 

Then  Catherine's  mind  turned  to  the  trial  in  Minne 
sota,  which  the  papers  had  reported  in  full,  and  she 
remembered  her  sympathy  for  the  man  who  was  fighting 
such  great  odds  alone.  She  recalled  the  leading  articles 
describing  the  man  who  had  argued  his  own  case,  and 
certain  phrases  came  back  to  her:  "He  is  as  hard  as  the 
steel  of  which  he  speaks."  "Worth  muddled  all  the  lawyers 
on  mechanics  as  easily  as  a  schoolmaster  could  muddle 
a  boy  of  eight."  Again  she  mentally  reviewed  his  whole 
history  and  that  of  his  forebears,  as  it  had  come  to  her 
ears.  John  Worth  had  been  thoroughly  discussed  and 
abused  before  this  girl,  and  she  ought  to  have  dismissed 
him  at  once;  but  she  was  Lurgan's  daughter,  which  meant 
that  she  had  a  will  of  her  own. 

Presently  she  peeped  at  John  from  the  corner  of  her 


Lurgan's  Daughter  Catherine  105 

eyes  and,  smiling  roguishly,  said,  "You  have  certainly 
succeeded  in  making  a  great  deal  of  trouble." 

John  then  realized  that  she  recognized  him  and,  throw 
ing  his  hands  out  toward  the  fire  as  if  to  warm  them,  but 
in  reality  to  get  more  into  her  line  of  sight,  so  that  he 
might  see  her  eyes,  he  answered,  "I  am  no  doubt  a 
trouble." 

He  had  not  yet  caught  her  eyes,  for  she  was  gazing  at 
his  strong,  knuckled  hands  and  the  powerful  wrists  and 
forearm,  which  were  thrown  into  view  by  his  position. 
She  thought  that  she  understood  the  reason  why  "  driving 
this  man  into  the  ground,"  Mr.  Hodges'  favorite  expres 
sion,  was  so  difficult,  and  then  she  said,  musingly,  "  Aren't 
you  afraid  some  one  will  do  you  an  injury,  and  wouldn't 
it  be  better  for  you  to  join  my  father's  company  and  so 
secure  the  reward  that  is  your  due?" 

To  John  this  sounded  like  a  lecture,  but  it  was  not 
intended  as  such,  for  Catherine  was  thinking  only  of 
John's  welfare  and  of  her  own  peace  at  home.  Since 
this  steel  patent  had  presented  itself  to  her  parent  as  a 
possible  death  warrant  to  his  hugely  watered  company, 
he  had  not  been  the  father  that  she  had  always  known 
and  loved;  and  now  she  looked  at  John,  awaiting  his 
answer.  Gazing  so  deep  into  her  eyes  that  she  trembled, 
he  said,  "  Would  you  give  me  your  honor  ?  " 

"  Why  do  you  say  that  ?  "  she  stammered. 

"To  bring  home  to  you  the  absolute  impossibility  for 
me  to  enter  your  father's  company,  or  to  accept  any 
reward  from  him." 

Suddenly  he  rose  and,  holding  out  his  hand,  said, 
"Will  you  take  my  hand?  And  shall  we  not  say  good 
night  ?  " 

But  he  did  not  know  Lurgan's  daughter,  for  she  ex- 


106  The  Mechanic 

claimed,  "  Oh,  but  you  are  not  going  now,  not  until  you 
have  built  up  the  fire  and  told  me  some  more  about  the 
East  side,  and  "  —  seeing  the  still  outstretched  hand  —  "  I 
forgive  you  for  those  strong  words,  but  only  on  condition 
that  you  forget  my  suggestion,  for  I  had  no  right  to  speak 
as  I  did." 

John  held  the  little  hand  in  his  for  a  moment  and, 
smiling  into  her  eyes,  answered,  "  You  are  satisfying  in 
two  ways,  and  here's  to  the  fire  and  good  cheer!" 

"  Come,"  she  exclaimed  gaily,  "  I  must  know,  being  a 
woman,  what  two  particular  brain  cells  I  fill  so  satisfac 
torily." 

"  First  my  thought  of  you  as  a  woman,  and  then  my 
sense  of  beauty  as  a  picture,"  said  John,  laughing. 

Catherine  blushed  and  curtsied,  and  he  added,  "That 
salutation  completes  the  gracious  vision.  But  tell  me 
how  you  accomplish  that  feat.  I  have  read  of  the  curtsy 
and  have  often  wondered  how  it  was  managed.  Isn't  it 
difficult?" 

"  I'll  show  you  some  day  —  when  we  are  friends,"  said 
Catherine,  with  a  mischievous  smile. 

"I  wonder,"  said  John,  looking  at  her  keenly,  "what 
that  phrase  really  means.  Is  it  to  be  merely  a  question 
of  time,  or  is  it  time  and "  — 

He  paused,  but  Catherine  said,  " Come!  Come!  Why 
hesitate  over  a  word?"  Approaching  close  to  him  she 
smiled  up  into  his  eyes,  with  an  expression  that  said, 
"  Finish ! "  He  looked  at  her  again,  in  the  way  that  had 
made  her  tremble,  and  he  said  slowly  and  pointedly - 
"Affection!" 

She  did  not  understand  why  the  word  thrilled  her,  but 
suddenly  she  felt  a  little  afraid  of  this  impelling  man,  so 
she  said,  "I  am  going  to  send  you  home  now,  but  first 


Lurgan's  Daughter  Catherine  107 

I'll  get  you  a  scarf  or  something  to  keep  you  warm,  for 
it  must  be  bitterly  cold." 

"Please  don't!"  said  John.  "The  night,  no  matter 
how  cold  it  is,  won't  chill  me  now." 

But  his  hostess  left  the  room,  and  shortly  returned  with 
a  plaid  shawl.  John  exclaimed,  with  a  smile,  "If  I  go 
to  the  East  side  with  that  about  my  neck,  I  shall  certainly 
be  held  up." 

Catherine  only  smiled  sweetly  at  him  and  said,  "You 
must  obey  me!  See!  I  have  brought  a  pin  and  I  am 
going  to  fasten  the  shawl  properly.  And  if  you  are  a 
good  boy  —  very  good,  mind !  —  and  wear  it  to  your 
hotel,  I'll  permit  you  to  bring  it  back  to  me." 

"  In  that  case  you  may  muffle  me  up  to  the  eyes,  but 
not  beyond,  as  I  want  to  add  another  picture  to  my 
gallery." 

Catherine  would  not  look  into  his  eyes,  but  fastened 
the  scarf  around  his  neck,  and  John,  taking  her  hand, 
raised  it  to  his  lips  and  departed. 

From  a  darkened  window  across  the  hall  she  watched 
him  as  he  walked  down  the  street,  and  then  slowly  she 
went  upstairs  to  her  room,  and,  after  her  maid  had 
prepared  her  for  bed,  she  knelt  and  prayed  to  her  mother 
for  guidance,  not  understanding  the  strange  sweetness 
that  filled  her  being. 

John  walked  over  to  the  East  side  and,  opening  the 
envelope,  he  found  twenty  dollars.  Recalling  his  lovely 
hostess,  he  smiled  at  the  beautiful  picture  in  his  mind. 
It  was  a  picture  that  should  have  filled  his  heart  as  well, 
but  the  painting  over  the  fireplace  had  prevented  his 
becoming  intoxicated  by  Catherine's  great  beauty. 
He  had  seen,  when  the  frightened  look  came  into  her 
eyes  as  he  spoke  so  pointedly  of  her  honor,  a  chance  to 


108  The  Mechanic 

injure  Lurgan,  for  he  knew,  as  did  the  rest  of  the  world, 
of  the  financier's  great  love  for  his  child.  And  when  he 
saw  her  tremble  beneath  his  gaze,  he,  too,  had  felt  the 
passion  of  the  moment. 

John  smiled  bitterly  at  the  situation,  and  well  he  might, 
for  greater  extremes,  in  a  worldly  sense,  could  hardly  be 
brought  together.  Lurgan's  daughter  was  not  only  one 
of  the  wealthiest  heiresses  in  the  world,  but  extremely 
handsome  as  well. 

Catherine  had  blue-black  hair,  eyes  so  dark  that  they 
looked  black,  an  exquisite  chin  and  beautiful  teeth;  her 
figure  was  tall  and  sensuously  proportioned.  The  phrase 
is  peculiarly  applicable,  for  every  line  and  every  curve 
revealed  her  seductive  charm.  She  was  the  embodiment 
of  love  and  life,  so  much  so  that  men  called  her  the  sor 
ceress  of  the  senses;  she  was  a  woman  for  whom  a  man 
would  sell  his  honor,  but  her  proud,  imperious  soul  was 
still  looking  for  its  natural  mate.  Should  she  wed  her 
true  master  and  the  lord  of  her  soul,  she  would  become  a 
mother,  an  embodiment  of  all  things  beautiful.  If,  on 
the  other  hand,  she  were  to  give  her  hand  without  her 
heart,  she  would  be  likely  to  nourish  his  being  with  the 
measured  drops  of  other  men's  souls.  Owing  to  her 
peculiar  upbringing,  for  she  had  always  been  with  her 
strong,  virile  father,  the  girl  did  not  yet  realize  her  fasci 
nation  or  her  power  of  allurement.  Lurgan  guarded  her 
always  with  the  notion  that  a  strict  surveillance  and  his 
own  love  were  all  that  his  child  needed;  and  at  the  age 
of  twenty-two,  or  previous  to  the  meeting  with  John,  she 
did  not  know  the  depth  of  her  own  nature  and  had  but 
little  knowledge  of  men. 

She  had  spent  three  months  in  Europe  every  summer 
with  her  father,  and,  as  he  was  one  of  the  powerful  men 


Lurgan9  s  Daughter  Catherine  109 

of  the  world,  she  had  been  presented  at  many  courts  and 
had  attended  many  functions  of  court  life.  Her  radiant 
beauty  had  appealed  to  many  men  of  title,  and  to  others, 
but  they  had  rapped  at  her  father's  door  only  to  be  sent 
away,  for  Lurgan,  with  all  his  faults,  would  not  barter 
his  daughter.  He  realized  that  she  must  be  consulted 
when  her  future  became  the  issue,  for,  as  a  manager  of 
many  enterprises,  and  of  thousands  of  men,  he  often  paid 
his  daughter  compliments  on  her  management  of  his 
large  household.  There  was  no  friction,  and  everything 
was  done  properly.  This  knack  of  management  bespoke 
the  fact  that  his  daughter  had  an  admirable  head  for  the 
fulfilment  of  any  duty.  Her  manner  was  the  perfection 
of  gentleness  and  curtsy,  and  she  never  had  the  slightest 
trouble  with  servants.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  all  loved 
her,  and,  with  her,  took  an  interest  in  making  her  house 
hold  a  well-organized  institution,  so  that  when  her  father 
entered  his  door  he  always  realized  the  blessing  of  a 
perfectly  ordered  home. 

Lurgan  was  at  his  club,  entertaining  a  personage  of 
distinguished  title,  who  was  visiting  the  United  States, 
it  was  reported,  in  order  to  study  the  country,  but  the 
real  reason  for  his  visit  was  to  see  the  country's  greatest 
heiress.  Lurgan  knew  this  on  receiving  a  call  from  a 
wily  ambassador  of  the  great  lord,  but,  though  flattered, 
for  he  was  well  pleased  that  the  great  ones  of  the  earth 
should  pay  court  to  his  daughter,  he  only  said,  "Let's 
look  him  over." 

So  his  Grace  with  a  pointed  beard  came  to  see  one  of 
the  leaders  in  this  country  of  progress;  and  Lurgan  liked 
him.  The  next  morning  at  breakfast  he  told  Catherine 
all  about  him,  and  then  said,  "  We'll  have  a  big  dinner, 
sweet,  next  week.  I'll  bring  you  the  list  to-night,  but  his 


110  The  Mechanic 

Grace  will  come  home  with  me  for  a  cup  of  tea  to-morrow 
afternoon." 

Catherine  smiled,  saying  to  herself,  "I  hope  this  one 
will  be  interesting,  and  will  not  say,  *  Beastly  weather, 
eh?"  But  thoughts  of  sounding  titles,  and  of  herself  as 
being  "on  view,"  did  not  trouble  her  pretty  head  this 
morning,  for  she  was  conjuring  up  a  vivid  picture  of  her 
interesting  "snow  man." 


CHAPTER  X 

JOHN   WORTH    GIVES   AND   TAKES 

THE  next  morning  John  was  thinking  about  Catherine 
and  recalling  the  picture  she  had  presented,  as  he  walked 
past  Lurgan's  bank  to  see  King,  who  had  written  to  the 
East  side  library,  asking  him  to  call  as  soon  as  he  arrived 
in  town.  King  expressed  himself  as  being  very  anxious 
to  begin  operations.  For  as  he  grasped  John's  hand  he 
said,  "Riddell  has  everything  ready  for  you,  and  now 
let  us  make  up  for  lost  time.  I  congratulate  you  on 
beating  Steel.  Can  they  delay  you  much  now  ?  " 

"It's  hard  to  bamboozle  the  Supreme  Court,"  John 
replied. 

"  That's  so.  And  now  let  me  say  that  through  you,  in 
the  past  two  years,  I  have  doubled  my  fortune,  and  also 
remember  that  I  am  old  enough  to  be  your  father,  which 
is  also  stating  that  I  like  you  and  the  way  you  make  good. 
Now,  in  this  room,  'Steel'  offered  you  twelve  thousand 
dollars  a  year,  and  I  want  you,  beginning  from  to-day, 
to  draw  one  thousand  dollars  a  month  until  the  factory 
is  on  its  legs  and  earning  money.  I  think  this  is  only 
just  to  you  and  to  the  machine,  as  you  can't  give  'The 
King'  your  time  if  you  have  to  earn  living  wage  as  well. 
Do  you  see  my  point  ?  " 

"  I  do,  and  you  are  right;  but  that  was  not  our  arrange 
ment." 

"Quite  so,  but  it  is  the  only  arrangement  that  I'll 

111 


The  Mechanic 

stand  for  now,  because  it's  sense  and  it's  business  as  well. 
From  my  knowledge  of  those  men's  power  and  influence, 
I  didn't  believe  that  you  would  ever  succeed  in  making 
the  patents  good,  so  I  made  very  hard  terms,  perhaps. 
But  now  things  are  different,  and  I'm  ready  to  cut  the 
liver  out  of  their  printing-machine  business  if  I  can." 

Seeing  a  new  side  to  King,  John  replied,  "All  right, 
and  I'll  begin  at  once.  Now  what  about  expenses  for 
tools  and  so  forth,  and  working  capital  ?  " 

Going  to  his  desk,  King  filled  out  a  check  and  handed 
it  to  John.  "When  you  have  used  that  up,  come  for 
more." 

John  looked  at  the  check  with  wide-open  eyes,  and 
cried,  "  This  ought  to  see  us  through." 

"Don't  bother  me  with  details;  I  trust  you  fully." 

With  eyes  a  little  moist,  John  thanked  King,  and  after 
a  moment  said,  "I'm  rather  short  on  clothes.  Do  you 
mind  giving  me  a  line  to  your  tailor  ?  " 

King,  smiling,  wrote  an  address  on  a  slip  of  paper. 
"  I'll  have  telephoned  before  you  arrive  at  this  address." 
And  when  John  had  gone,  King  made  it  quite  clear  to 
his  tailor  what  Mr.  Worth  really  wanted,  and  finished  by 
saying,  "Mind,  don't  limit  his  order,  but  work  on  the 
one  I  have  given  you  and  see  that  the  work  is  put  in  hand 
at  once." 

After  John's  visit  to  the  bank  and  the  tailor,  he  crossed 
over  to  the  East  side,  as  he  was  eager  to  see  his  friends. 
He  first  called  on  Dr.  Sawyer,  who,  after  welcoming  him 
back,  said,  "  Willie  Radley  has  lost  his  position ;  he  made 
a  speech  about  you  the  night  you  won  your  lawsuit  in 
Minnesota,  and,  unfortunately,  what  he  said  was  funny, 
and  a  reporter  gave  him  a  column,  and  the  following  day 
Willie  was  discharged." 


John  Worth  Gives  and  Takes  113 

"That's  too  bad." 

"It  is  especially  so,"  cried  the  minister,  "because  since 
his  father's  death  he  is  supporting  his  mother  and  sisters." 

And  when  John  met  Willie  he  took  his  arm  and  told 
him  to  come  for  a  call  on  King.  Willie  replied,  with  a 
laugh,  "From  the  ranks  of  the  unemployed  I  hasten," 
and  shortly  afterward  they  were  in  King's  office,  and  John 
was  telling  a  story  that  brought  blushes  to  Willie's  cheeks. 

"  Why  spoil  his  talents  there,"  demanded  the  old  man, 
"as  we  can  get  book-keepers  in  large  quantities?  You 
tell  me  that  Mr.  Radley  made  the  East  side  bank,  and 
that  it  had  a  very  large  list  of  depositors.  Why  not  start 
a  small  private  bank  and  see  what  your  friend  can  do  ?  " 

John,  very  much  surprised,  declared  that  Willie  could 
make  it  pay,  of  course. 

"Let  us  see,"  went  on  King,  in  his  velvety  voice,  as 
Willie,  losing  his  surprise  quickly,  and  becoming  a  banker, 
asserted  that  there  was  a  lot  of  money  in  the  venture. 

"I  hope  so.  At  any  rate,  I  have  always  wanted  a 
bank." 

The  following  day,  when  Willie  called  to  say  that  he  had 
found  modest  quarters,  King  asked,  "  Who  is  the  greatest 
man  in  your  section?" 

"John  Worth." 

"  Well,  then,  call  your  financial  institution  '  The  John 
Worth  Bank.'  But  don't  tell  him  this,  as  I  want  to  sur 
prise  him.  You  see  he  called  a  machine  after  me,  and 
I  like  the  idea  of  this  return  compliment." 

Willie  went  home  the  happiest  man  on  the  East  side. 
King,  besides  offering  him  a  handsome  salary,  had  prom 
ised  him  an  interest  in  the  bank,  if  it  should  prove  a  paying 
investment.  When  he  saw  his  mother  and  sisters,  he 
lifted  his  head  high  in  the  air  and,  inflating  his  chest, 


114  The  Mechanic 

pretended  that  he  did  not  know  them.  But  they  soon 
forced  him  to  abandon  his  grand  airs,  and  the  entire 
family  rejoiced  in  his  roseate  prospects. 

When  John  saw  the  sign  on  the  window,  and  realized 
that  a  part  of  the  bank  belonged  to  him,  he  bent  his 
whole  energies  toward  working  for  a  large  list  of  deposi 
tors.  He  said  to  Willie  that  they  must  not  rest  until  it 
was  the  most  powerful  bank  in  New  York.  Willie 
assented  cheerfully,  and  then,  in  choice  East  side  ver 
nacular,  complimented  John  upon  his  clothes. 

Early  that  afternoon,  having  stopped  at  his  rooms  for 
the  shawl,  John  went  up  town  to  call  on  Catherine.  He 
asked  the  butler,  who  recognized  him,  if  Miss  Lurgan 
were  at  home,  and  after  receiving  word  that  she  was,  he 
was  taken  upstairs  to  the  drawing-room.  The  butler 
then  asked  what  name  he  should  give. 

"Mr.  Snowman." 

The  butler  departed  and  when  he  had  found  his  mis 
tress,  he  said,  "Mr.  Snowman  is  in  the  drawing-room, 
Miss." 

By  her  beating  heart  Catherine  knew  who  it  was  and 
said,  "Bring  him  here."  John  was  escorted  through 
three  large  reception-rooms  to  another  and  smaller  room 
on  the  same  floor.  This  was  Catherine's  office,  and  from 
it  she  managed  her  large  charities  and  her  house  accounts. 

There  was  a  happy  expression  on  Catherine's  face  as 
she  waited  for  John,  and  when  he  entered  she  gave  her 
hand,  saying,  "I  am  so  glad  to  see  you,  Mr.  Snowman." 
But  as  he  approached,  Catherine's  eyes  noted  the  change 
of  appearance,  and  making  a  low,  sweeping  curtsy,  she 
cried,  "My!  But  we  have  altered." 

"Am  I  not  splendid?  I  wasn't  altogether  sure  that  I 
would  come,  as  these  rags  make  me  proud  and  haughty. 


John  Worth  Gives  and  Takes  115 

But  yes,  I'll  talk  and  be  democratic  and  all  that,  so  don't 
get  nervous. " 

Catherine,  laughing  with  John,  exclaimed,  "I'm  so 
glad;  but  how  did  it  all  happen?"  And  when  John  told 
her,  she  said,  "I  know  Mr.  King  and  like  him,  but  he 
hasn't  been  to  see  us  for  two  years." 

"Say,"  announced  John,  assuming  a  long,  tragic  face, 
"  I  forgot  the  pin." 

"  How  could  you  ?  "  she  cried  seriously. 

"I  attached  it  to  the  black  alpaca,  which  I  called  in 
last  week,  and  forgot  it  to-day." 

She  liked  his  humorous  way  of  putting  things  and, 
being  more  child  than  woman,  entered  into  the  play  of 
words,  and  for  a  half  hour  they  talked  as  boy  and  girl. 
But  time  was  passing,  and  Catherine  knew  that  her 
father,  Title,  and  many  others  were  coming  in  for  tea,  so, 
looking  at  a  little  watch,  she  said,  "  I  am  going  to  send 
you  away  now,  as  I  must  change  my  frock  and  receive 
all  sorts  of  people,  including  a  small  nobleman  with  a 
large  title." 

"  I  have  read  of  that  person,"  and  looking  at  Catherine 
so  she  blushed,  he  added,  "  Isn't  he  here  to  look  over  our 
industries  —  and  such  ?  " 

"  You  are  real  mean,"  cried  Catherine.  "  You  must  go 
now,"  and  she  pretended  to  be  hurt  at  his  allusion. 

Approaching  her,  and  looking  straight  into  her  eyes  he 
said,  "  I'm  sorry,  believe  me." 

A  few  days  after  the  shawl  had  been  delivered,  John 
picked  up  the  pin  from  his  dressing-table,  and  with  it  he 
journeyed  to  Madison  Avenue.  The  butler  opened  the 
door  of  the  morning-room  and  said,  "Mr.  Snowman, 
Miss."  Catherine,  who  was  talking  to  her  dear  friend, 
Polly  Platt,  blushed  furiously  and  then  turned  very  pale. 


116  The  Mechanic 

Then  she  said,  in  a  voice  that  sounded  queer  to  Polly, 
"  Show  him  in  here."  Polly,  who  was  a  petite  blonde,  and 
very  attractive,  looked  with  interest  in  her  gray  eyes  at 
the  man  whose  name  had  made  her  friend  blush.  Think 
ing  that  she  saw  a  slight  diffidence  in  Catherine's  manner, 
and  being  a  wise  little  girl,  Polly  immediately  remembered 
a  number  of  pressing  engagements,  and  having  taken  a 
liking  to  Mr.  Snowman,  she  said  amiably,  "I  hope  we 
may  meet  again." 

"  How  is  your  brother  ?  "  asked  John.  "  I  knew  him  at 
Columbia." 

Polly  exclaimed  smilingly,  "  Oh,  then  you  must  call  to 
see  him,  as  he  loves  to  talk  college." 

When  she  had  gone,  John  said,  "  Here  is  the  pin  —  and 
how  are  we,  Title,  and  the  others  —  the  all  sorts,  I  mean  ? 
Of  course,  I  know  Polly  Platt  doesn't  come  in  on  the  '  all 
sorts'  as  the  environing  traditions,  mainly  exclusive,  that 
have  been  built  around  you,  don't  extend  to  her." 

"  And  how  do  you  know  about  Polly,  if  I  may  ask  ?  " 

"  As  I  read  the  social  court  calendar,  I  know  that  one 
Catherine  Lurgan  and  Polly  Platt  are  becoming  great 
friends.  It  is  narrated,  also,  that  Miss  Platt,  from  early 
childhood,  until  recently  has  lived  in  Paris,  and  I  gathered 
from  the  same  article  that  you  danced  at  her  house  last 
night,  and  wore,  besides  a  dreamy  smile — I  am  quoting 
from  the  papers — a  white  frock  and  pearls."  And  Cath 
erine,  who  had  been  just  a  bit  vexed  with  her  insistent 
snow  man,  laughed;  and  then  looking  into  her  eyes  he 
continued,  "  Will  you  add  to  my  pictures  by  dressing  in 
white  for  me  sometime  ?  " 

"  How  can  I,  as  this  is  your  last  call  ?  "  And  picking 
up  the  pin  and  holding  it  out  before  him,  she  cried, 
"  Everything  is  delivered  now." 


John  Worth  Gives  and  Takes  117 

"  If  I  had  only  known  —  " 

"Known  what?" 

And  John  soberly  said,  "I  could  have  had  so  many 
things  that  night.  I'm  stupid." 

Seeing  that  Miss  Lurgan,  as  that  was  the  name  she 
took  in  his  thoughts,  was  troubled  to-day  about  something, 
John  bade  her  good-by  and  said  nothing  about  calling, 
and  this  piqued  her.  She  sat  for  a  long  time  thinking 
about  her  fascinating  snow  man,  realizing  that  she  had 
not  been  quite  friendly.  She  did  not  like  her  words 
about  its  being  his  last  call;  as  she  repeated  them,  they 
sounded  rather  peremptory.  She  had  made  up  her  mind, 
if  she  ever  met  him  again,  to  be  very  pleasant,  but  to 
put  him  in  his  place.  As  Lurgan's  daughter  she  could  not 
make  a  friend  of  a  mechanic,  no  matter  how  interesting 
he  might  be;  but  her  thoughts  would  not  fit  into  a  working 
arrangement  with  her  feelings,  and  she  was  greatly 
troubled. 

It  was  only  yesterday,  in  response  to  a  question  from 
her  father  about  Title,  that  she  had  said,  "Oh,  he 
doesn't  interest  me."  And  when  he  pronounced  the 
perpetual  "Why?"  seeing  John's  stalwart  form  in  her 
mind's  eye,  she  exclaimed  rather  strongly,  "He  lacks 
manliness,  ruggedness,  and  power." 

Catherine  now  shaped  a  thought  in  her  mind  and 
looked  at  it  as  her  father  would  have  looked  at  a  pro 
spectus.  Keeping  her  position,  which  she  had  never 
thought  much  about,  immediately  [before  her,  it  was 
not  so  very  terrible  after  all,  for  her  mind  was  running 
on  Title.  Filling  in  the  details,  she  saw  the  old 
world  and  its  gaieties;  the  many  opportunities  to 
clothe  herself  in  fine  raiment  at  court  festivals,  house 
parties,  dances,  and  all  the  other  pleasurable  affairs  that 


118  The  Mechanic 

revolve  around  royalty.  Many  of  her  friends  were  already 
there  and  all  pronounced  it  beautiful  and  very  satisfying, 
and  against  this  was  —  and  she  put  her  hands  over  her 
eyes  to  shut  out  the  picture  of  a  man  piling  a  log  or  two 
in  her  fire.  She  saw  the  bent  form  and  the  great  ropes 
of  muscle  that  sprang  into  the  back  and  then  sank  out  of 
sight  as  he  straightened.  Still  communing  with  herself, 
she  realized  that  if  John  Worth  had  not  come  into  her 
life,  it  would  not  be  so  hard  to  say  yes  to  Title.  She  felt 
that  her  father  expected  her  to  say  that  little  word,  though 
she  knew  that  he  would  not  coerce  her.  But  there  were 
other  forces  now  at  work  in  Catherine,  and  that  afternoon 
she  made  up  her  mind  to  marry  Title  and  end  her  short, 
sweet  dream,  for,  of  her  liking  for  John  she  was  well 
aware.  But  how  deep  that  was  she  did  not  know. 

Eager  to  hear  something  about  Mr.  Snowman,  as  her 
brother  did  not  remember  him,  Polly  called  early  the 
next  day  and  cried,  "Who  is  he?  Come,  confess." 

"  I  met  him  and  asked  him  to  call,"  answered  Catherine. 
"It's  all  prosaic  and  let  us  talk  about  something  inter 
esting." 

"Oh,  Catherine,  don't  get  cross  —  I  thought  him  so 
good-looking  and  nice,  even  though  Percy  was  sure  he 
didn't  know  him.  But  if  he  is  tabooed,  why  let  us  try 
the  weather;  that's  always  safe." 

"I'm  sorry  for  my  abruptness,  Polly,  but  I  have  a 
shocking  headache." 

Turning  to  her  friend,  Polly  saw  that  she  was  not 
looking  quite  well.  Catherine,  in  order  to  find  out  if 
Polly  had  ever  heard  her  brother  speak  of  John,  said, 
"  I  may  go  to  Washington  in  the  spring,  as  my  father  is 
interested  in  some  big  lawsuit  against  a  man  named 
Worth.  Better  come  with  us;  it's  sure  to  be  interesting." 


John  Worth  Gives  and  Takes  119 

"Percy  knows  Mr.  Worth,"  and  then  Polly  continued 
very  firmly;  "he  likes  him  ever  so  much." 

"You  needn't  put  it  that  way,"  protested  Catherine, 
crossly. 

"I'll  come  back  some  day  when  your  head  doesn't 
ache,  dear,"  and  Polly,  considerably  vexed,  rose  to  go. 

But  Catherine  put  her  arms  around  her  and  began  to 
weep  hysterically,  so  Polly  was  immediately  all  loving 
attention.  When  Catherine  was  quieted,  she  said,  "  Sup 
pose  I  play  something." 

Catherine  murmured,  "Yes,  do.  Sing  Douglas." 
Polly  played  some  of  the  airs  that  Catherine  liked,  and 
then  sang  the  song  for  which  she  had  asked.  In  the 
morning,  Polly  found  her  apparently  quite  herself  again. 

"I  was  such  a  goose,  Polly.  Do  sit  down  and  let  us 
have  a  good  long  chat  about  your  big  dinner-party  and 
everything." 

"  Are  you  coming  ?  " 

"Of  course.  I  told  father  that  it  was  young  people 
only,  and  because  it  was  at  your  mother's,  he  said  all 
right.  Now  what  are  you  going  to  wear  ?  " 

The  girls  talked  as  girls  will,  and  Polly  went  home, 
assured  that  Catherine  was  well  physically,  but  suspected 
that  she  was  still  thinking  about  the  tall  stranger.  Find 
ing  her  brother  at  home  for  lunch,  and  her  mother  away, 
she  said:  "It's  odd,  Percy,  that  you  do  not  remember 
Mr.  Snowman,  as  I  have  never  seen  so  noticeable  a 
man." 

Upon  having  him  described  in  detail,  Percy  said,  "  Your 
description  is  very  much  like  —  but  wait  a  moment."  As 
Percy  Platt  had  studied  a  little  art  in  Paris,  to  engage  his 
time  and  inclinations,  he  quickly  drew  a  picture  with  his 
pencil  and  said,  "  Is  that  like  him  ?  " 


120  The  Mechanic 

"Why  that  is  Mr.  Snowman;  so  you  know  him  after 
all?"  cried  Polly. 

"Polly,  that  is  John  Worth." 

"Brother,  it's  impossible." 

"  And  yet  this  is  the  man  you  saw  ?  " 

"Oh,  Percy,  something  is  wrong  somewhere,  as  she 
can't  know  Worth.  Why,  her  father  hates  the  ground  he 
walks  on";  and  then  another  thought  coming  to  Polly, 
she  cried,  "Suppose  it  is  Worth?  He  is  then  deceiving 
her.  I  shall  telephone  at  once." 

"  Don't  be  silly,  Polly.  I  know  that  John  Worth  would 
not  deceive  her.  Take  my  word  for  it,  she  knows." 

. "  But  how  could  they  ever  have  come  together  ?  Their 
worlds  are  so  far  apart." 

"  I  can't  answer  that,  and  I  do  admit  a  strange  situa 
tion;  but  look  here,  sister,  don't  make  any  class  error 
with  Worth,  or  I'll  get  unpleasant." 

"  Was  that  fight  so  important  ?  "  asked  Polly,  archly. 

"Not  the  fight,  little  sister,  for  I  was  raw  and  green 
then,  but  when  he  saved  me  from  a  gang  of  ruffians; 
knowing  that  he  was  a  mechanic  from  Center  Street,  I 
offered  him  help  financially.  It  was  his  answer  that 
made  me  remember  him." 

"And  that  was—" 

"'I  wouldn't  have  believed  you  capable  of  this.5  Just 
those  quiet  words,  but  they  sank  deep  into  my  heart,  so 
deep  that  I  have  never  forgotten  them,  or  him,  for  he 
then  put  me  on  to  the  road  that  men  travel." 

"Then  you  sent  him  a  check?" 

"  Yes,  sister,  to  my  utter  confusion.    I  was  a  bounder." 

"Oh,  Percy!" 

"That's  just  the  word,  little  sister,  and  since  then  I 
have  tried  to  be  what  he  is  —  a  gentleman." 


. 

John  Worth  Gives  and  Takes 

"  But  I  am  so  worried  about  Catherine  —  for  I  know  — 
I  know—  " 

"That  she  loves  him,"  added  Percy. 

But  Polly  would  not  admit  that  even  to  her  brother, 
and  she  said,  "  Why  haven't  you  hunted  him  up  ?  " 

"  I  will  one  of  these  days,  and  try  again  to  get  him  to 
forgive  me." 

"  And  does  he  harbor  you  ill-will  ?  " 

"I  think  he  merely  despises  me." 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  SURRENDER 

BY  following  the  papers  closely,  John  found  that  Miss 
Platt  was  at  home  on  Wednesdays  and  so  he  ventured 
to  call,  and  was  made  very  welcome  by  Percy  Platt,  who 
said  to  a  large,  handsome  woman,  "Mother,  this  is  my 
friend,  Mr.  Snowman."  John  told  him  afterward  that 
that  would  not  do,  as  he  rather  liked  the  name  of  Worth. 

"But  it  must  be  'Snowman,'  as  this  function,  though 
small,  carries  at  least  two  women  who  sell  news  to  the 
papers,  and  I  allow  your  own  mind  to  dwell  on  the  explo 
sion  in  Wall  Street,  if  it  were  known  down  there  that  —  " 
and  then  Percy,  looking  at  Miss  Lurgan,  said  no  more. 

Presently,  John  found  a  vacant  seat  beside  Catherine, 
and,  slipping  into  it,  said,  "I  shall  have  a  box  at  the 
opera  next  Thursday,"  and  Catherine,  who  understood, 
smiled  and  said  airily: 

"  But  I  am  not  going  to  speak  to  you  after  to-day." 

"So  I  must  do  all  the  talking?    That's  selfish."' 

"I  mean  that  I  am  not  going  to  see  you,"  and  she 
looked  at  him  very  firmly. 

"Bet  you  an  orange  against  a  cookie  that  I  see  you 
and  talk  to  you  within  three  days." 

"  I'll  take  that  bet,  but  you  mustn't  deliver  the  orange 
in  person,  if  you  lose,"  and  Catherine  looked  at  John 
with  big,  wide  eyes,  as  he  laughingly  consented,  saying 
that  if  he  won  he  should  come  for  the  cookie. 

122 


The  Surrender  123 

"  But  you  won't  win,  I  know." 

And  turning  the  conversation,  John  said,  "May  I 
speak  about  the  picture?"  and  without  waiting  for  an 
answer,  went  on,  "  Your  gown  is  perfect,  and  I  like  that 
ruffle  around  your  neck,  and  your  hat,  and  I  like  your 
eyes,  when  they  don't  wander." 

A  little  flush  gathered  in  Catherine's  cheek,  but  she 
kept  her  eyes  turned  away  because  she  was  afraid  of  the 
light  which  she  realized  was  in  them.  To  her  relief,  Mrs. 
Platt  joined  them,  and  John  soon  bade  his  hostess  adieu. 
Turning  to  Catherine,  and  bending  over,  he  whispered, 
"  Wear  white  "  ;  and  when  she  looked  again,  Polly  and 
Percy  were  escorting  him  to  the  door.  But  what  did 
"  wear  white  "  mean  ? 

She  was  plainly  mystified,  until  Polly  came  in  and  said, 
"  Dicky  Baldwin  has  the  grippe  and  can't  dine  with  us, 
so  mother  asked  Mr.  Snowman  and  he  was  good  enough 
to  say  that  he  would  come." 

Catherine  now  knew  the  import  of  John's  parting 
request,  and  she  told  herself  that  she  was  displeased  with 
him. 

Later  Polly  said  to  her  brother,  "Yes,  I  like  him  very 
much,  and  he  is  what  you  say,  a  gentleman." 

"  If  I  were  a  real  artist,  Polly,  I  would  paint  him  as  a 
symbol  of  religion." 

"Percy,  you  dream!" 

"  I  have  imagination,  perhaps,  and  following  this  crook 
in  my  character,  I  have  already  arranged  with  mother 
for  a  dinner  of  small  tables  —  Catherine,  Title,  you,  and 
John  together.  Then  I'll  watch  the  play;  of  course, 
Catherine  will  follow  the  others  to  Europe,  but  still  I  am 
making  a  fight  for  an  American." 

As  she  dressed  for  the  dinner,  Catherine  was  positive 


124  The  Mechanic 

that  she  would  not  wear  white,  and  she  had  her  maid 
bring  out  for  inspection  a  number  of  dinner  gowns  of 
other  colors,  but  none  pleased,  and  finally  the  maid  said, 
"But,  mademoiselle,  this  is  so  chic!  I  can't  understand 
why  you  don't  like  it.  It  makes  you  look  so  charming." 

"Very  well,  if  you  really  think  I  ought  to  wear  it. 
But  no,  I  won't  wear  pearls  —  just  this  frock,  with  a  rose 
in  my  hair."  And  Catherine  said  to  herself,  "I  didn't 
put  it  on  for  him,  of  course,  and  he  is  a  silly  if  he  thinks 
so."  But  she  was  very  happy  as  she  drove  to  the  Platts, 
and  once  laughed  as  she  wondered  what  John  would  say. 
Then  she  whispered  to  the  shadows,  "He  may  say  what 
he  likes  to-night,  and  he  may  look  at  me,  too,  in  that  way 
he  has  of  telling  me  that  he  wants  to  kiss  his  picture. 
Oh  —  oh,  John,  but  you  are  so  shocking,"  and  Catherine 
blushed  in  the  brougham. 

The  arrangements  for  dinner  were  pleasing,  for  Title 
and  John  at  the  same  table  meant  that  joy  would  be  the 
portion  of  the  hours  that  she  had  taken  from  duty  and 
given  to  her  heart.  Her  father  had  said  that  day,  "I 
want  to  see  you  settled,  dear,  and  Title  is  very  much  of 
a  man;  he  told  me  that  he  had  already  grown  to  love  you 
dearly."  She  had  answered  that  she  wished  more  time, 
and  the  banker,  seeing  the  change  in  his  daughter's  words 
as  to  Title,  told  her  not  to  decide  until  she  was  ready  to 
do  so.  But  Catherine  had  finally  made  up  her  mind  to 
marry  the  nobleman  and,  having  set  her  future  at  rest, 
she  allowed  her  heart  full  sway  to-night. 

Her  eyes  drank  in  their  full  of  the  man  she  loved,  and 
her  heart  was  throbbing  intense  pleasure.  For  had  not 
John  said,  when  they  were  a  moment  together,  "You 
are  exquisite  —  a  rose  within  my  life  —  a  morsel  to  de 
vour,  or  a  nightmare  to  haunt?  When  I  call  for  my 


The  Surrender  125 

cookie,  I'll  bring  shackles  to  take  you  away  from  the  eyes 
of  all  men."  And  now  at  the  table,  listening  to  the 
amiable  Title,  she  was  thinking  of  the  look  in  John's 
eyesfwhen  he  had  spoken  to  her  in  the  drawing-room, 
and  was  vaguely  wondering  if  it  would  be  wrong  to  see 
him  again  in  her  own  home. 

While  she  was  conjuring  up  a  scene  for  the  future 
with  John,  by  that  art  known  only  to  women,  she  was 
listening  to  what  Title  was  saying.  But  she  was  recalled 
from  her  dream  by  the  nobleman  who  was  describing 
Pittsburg,  where  he  had  just  been.  Finding  Miss  Lurgan 
so  interested,  he  was  giving  in  detail  the  account  of  his 
two  days  there. 

"All  they  talk  about  is  Worth,  which  in  Pittsburg  is  a 
synonym  for  steel,"  and  at  that  name  the  smile  on  her 
face  deepened,  and  the  spell  that  held  her  broke,  and  she 
asked  Title  to  tell  something  about  this  colossus.  Then 
she  looked  mischievously  at  John,  who,  turning  to  Polly, 
said  in  a  low  voice,  "If  it  gets  rough,  stop  him."  But 
Polly  only  smiled  back  and  cried  to  Title,  "Oh,  do  tell 
us  something  about  the  man  who  is  now  occupying  the 
stage." 

"By  Jove,"  began  Title,  "they  do  give  it  to  him;  that's 
what.  They  pour  it  on  as  thick  as  you  like.  Why,  they 
stop  discussing  whisky  at  the  Monongahela  Club  to  talk 
Worth.  Really,  I  couldn't  begin  to  tell  you  all  the  things, 
they  said,  but '  rascal,  rogue,  thief,'  will  give  you  the  gist 
of  opinion.  I  was  shown  about,  you  know,  by  Mr. 
Hodges,  whose  vocabulary  on  Worth  seemed  more  com 
prehensive  than  the  others.  He's  a  bird,  if  you  like," 
laughed  Title. 

"Why  a  bird?"  demanded  Polly,  in  glee. 

"  Oh,  he  told  me  that  his  face  was  jammed  by  a  steel 


126  The  Mechanic 

beam  which  dropped  the  wrong  way.  I  don't  know  why 
he  told  me  that,  except  that  it  was  late  and  we  had 
stopped  his  invective  many  times  to  call  for  whiskies. 
But  I  learned  the  next  day  that  the  jamming  was  done 
by  one  David  Worth,  uncle  to  John  Worth.  Really,  you 
know,  I  somehow  like  this  fellow  that  every  one  abuses." 

Polly  and  Catherine  enjoyed  the  situation  hugely,  and 
John  saw  in  their  eyes,  in  their  laugh,  and  in  their  manner, 
that  all  these  ugly  names  took  no  shape  in  their  minds 
or  their  hearts.  With  deep  feeling  he  saw  that  his  honor 
as  a  man  stood  clear  and  strong  to  these  girls,  and  soon 
he,  too,  was  laughing  at  the  terrible  things  which  were 
said  about  him. 

The  dinner  was  a  merry  one,  and  Catherine  enjoyed 
every  moment  of  the  blissful  freedom  that  she  had  allowed 
herself.  After  dinner  she  and  John  were  escorted  to 
Percy's  study  to  see  a  sketch  of  Polly,  and  while  it  was 
being  admired,  Platt  said,  "  Excuse  me  for  a  moment,  and 
I'll  fetch  something  which  may  interest  you,  that  I  picked 
up  at  Christy's." 

After  the  door  closed,  John  said,  "  He  is  a  patriot." 

"  Why  do  you  say  that  ?  " 

"Because  he  left  us  here.  I  can  see  he  nourishes  a 
hope  that  you  may  not  go  to  England."  And  after  a 
pause,  John  added,  "I  think  he  would  be  glad  if  you 
remained  in  America." 

Catherine  trembled  at  these  words  and  sat  down. 
Pulling  a  chair  close  up  to  her  he  said,  "  I  want  to  marry 
my  picture." 

With  her  face  very  pale,  Catherine  answered  in  a  hushed 
voice,  "  I  can't,  John." 

Lifting  her  chin  with  one  of  his  hands,  so  that  he  could 
look  into  her  eyes,  he  replied  in  a  low,  powerful  voice, 


The  Surrender  127 

"I  mean  to  marry  you,  Catherine,  unless  you  think  I 
can't  make  you  happy  ?  " 

"  John !  John !  You  know  I  can't  —  can't,"  she  cried, 
jumping  to  her  feet. 

John  took  her  hands  and,  putting  them  on  his  shoul 
ders,  drew  her  to  him.  He  kissed  her  on  the  lips,  and  in 
a  voice  that  wavered  with  the  intensity  of  her  love,  she 
whispered,  "Please  don't."  He  kissed  her  again  and 
then  she  linked  her  hands  about  his  neck  and  said  softly, 
"  I  love  you,  John,  but  I  can't  marry  you.  I  am  going 
to  marry  Title.  Father  wants  me  to." 

At  the  mention  of  Lurgan's  name,  with  a  grim  thought 
in  his  mind,  John  asked,  "  What  night  shall  I  call  for  my 
wager  ?  " 

His  arm  was  still  about  her,  her  heaving  form  against 
his,  as  he  kissed  her  again.  A  moment  later  he  cried, 
"  Give  me  one  evening  at  your  home.  I  hear  Platt  com- 
ing." 

"  Come  Tuesday  afternoon  at  half-past  four." 

When  Platt  came  in,  after  looking  at  Catherine,  he 
took  a  painting  from  its  wrapper  and  began  showing  her 
all  its  excellent  points.  He  talked  rapidly  for  quite  a 
while,  for  he  was  a  good  fellow  and  a  man  of  the  world, 
and  he  was  giving  the  girl  time  to  regain  her  poise.  At 
last  Polly  came  to  tell  Catherine  of  the  arrival  of  her 
carriage.  Looking  at  John,  her  soul  in  her  eyes,  Catherine 
said,  "  Au  rev&ir." 

John  walked  over  to  her  and  said  gently,  "  You  will  be 
free  then  ?  " 

Understanding  his  meaning,  and  making  a  little  curtsy 
that  was  infinitely  pleasing,  she  whispered,  "  Yes." 

Polly  laughed  at  this  scene,  but  Percy  saw  tragedy  in 
the  girl's  manner  and  terrible  determination  in  the  man's, 


128  The  Mechanic 

and  he  thought  that  if  Worth  got  only  half  a  show  he 
would  win  her. 

On  her  way  home  Catherine  was  nestling  back  in  a 
corner  of  the  carriage,  not  trying  to  stay  the  flood  of  love 
that  was  rioting  through  her  being.  She  felt  again  the 
exquisite  pain  of  his  first  kiss.  Then  he  had  kissed  her 
again  and  her  being  seemed  to  melt  into  his.  The  last 
embrace  had  submerged  her  soul  with  intense  longing  for 
a  lasting  grasp  of  his  strong  arms. 

To  her  father,  who  was  awaiting  her,  she  said  that 
she  was  sleepy,  and  went  to  her  room  still  in  that  pleas 
urable  thrall  of  the  first  kiss  of  love.  In  the  morning  she 
tried  to  summon  cold  reason,  but  her  mind  was  too  full 
of  John,  so  she  thought  she  would  take  another  day. 
What  did  it  matter?  She  sang  and  was  happy,  and  the 
image  grew  dearer  and  more  precious,  and  when  she  tried 
to  arrange  her  life  in  its  old  orbit,  she  grew  hot  with  shame 
that  she  had  ever  imagined  Title  as  her  husband. 

At  last,  taking  a  firmer  hold  on  reason,  she  found  that 
John  was  hope,  and  that  to  him  only  did  her  being  re 
spond.  Another  life  had  come  to  Catherine;  the  old 
girlhood  days  had  gone.  She  saw  the  emptiness  of  her 
life  if  she  married  Title,  and  the  desolation  of  her  father's 
home  if  she  married  John.  And  yet  there  was  no  more 
worry,  no  more  loss  of  sleep;  for  her  soul  had  passed  to 
John  when  he  kissed  her,  and  beyond  this  she  could  not 
go.  Had  her  passions  been  sapped  with  many  kisses, 
she  would  have  viewed  life  differently;  from  a  lower  level 
she  could  have  fought  a  better  battle  with  herself,  but 
she  was  very  pure  and  very  honest,  and  that  kiss  meant 
more  than  the  abandoning  of  her  lips  to  a  moment  of 
ecstasy. 

She  did  not  then  realize  the  depths  of  her  nature  other 


The  Surrender  129 

than  her  knowledge  that  he  could  have  taken  her  away 
from  home,  friends,  everything!  but  the  next  day,  and 
afterwards,  John  filled  her  vision.  She  could  not  mark 
one  step  of  her  life  beyond  him,  because  he  had  taken 
from  her  the  restraint  of  girlhood,  and  her  look  into  the 
future  now  held  nothing  beyond  the  man  whom  she 
loved  so  unrestrainedly. 

When  Tuesday  came,  knowing  that  her  father  had  an 
engagement  for  dinner,  and  that  she  had  many  invitations 
out  for  a  reception,  she  searched  the  telephone  book  for 
John's  Jersey  number,  so  as  to  ask  him  to  come  for  dinner. 
But  John  was  in  New  York  and  Catherine  did  not  know 
where  to  find  him,  so  when  he  came  in  the  afternoon,  she 
met  him  in  the  hall  and  said,  "Come  back  at  eight  and 
dine  with  me.  I'll  ask  Polly  and  her  brother  to  join  us." 


CHAPTER  XII 

LTJRGAN  LOSES 

WHEN  John  passed  out,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hodges  were 
emerging  from  a  house  a  little  higher  up  the  street  on  the 
opposite  side  where  they  had  been  making  a  call,  and 
were  now  on  their  way  to  Lurgan's  to  meet  Title.  Hodges 
saw  John  come  out  of  Lurgan's  and  greatly  wondered. 
He  hoped  that  the  steel  patent  case  was  being  adjusted, 
and  with  this  in  mind,  he  said  to  Slater,  "  Tell  Mr.  Lurgan 
that  I  should  like  to  speak  to  him  for  a  moment."  When 
the  butler  replied  that  Mr.  Lurgan  was  not  home  yet, 
Hodges  was  amazed. 

After  waiting  a  few  moments,  Catherine  appeared  and 
welcomed  the  Hodges,  and  then  came  others,  among 
them  Lurgan  and  Title.  Hodges  was  in  the  meantime 
seeking  for  a  reason  which  would  explain  Worth's  pres 
ence,  never  once  suspecting  that  his  radiant  hostess  was 
in  any  way  connected  with  the  matter.  He  wondered  if 
some  underhand  work  were  going  on,  but  no,  that  could 
not  be,  for  he  had  seen  Lurgan  come  in  afterwards  and 
with  him  the  foreigner.  Still  he  thought  he  would  speak 
to  Playfellow  before  asking  Lurgan  to  explain,  and  on  his 
way  home  he  dropped  in  on  his  partner,  and  recited  what 
he  had  seen. 

"Something  is  up,"  Playfellow  said;  "at  any  rate,  give 
Lurgan  a  chance  to  explain."  And,  as  Hodges  was  going 
to  dine  with  Lurgan,  he  promised  to  speak  with  him  that 

130 


Lurgan  Loses  131 

evening.  About  ten  o'clock  he  had  an  opportunity  to 
do  so. 

But  in  the  meantime  John  was  in  the  morning  room 
of  Lurgan's  home,  enjoying  his  picture.  Catherine  was 
dressed  in  a  simple  gown  of  great  beauty  and  John 
was  glad  that  he  had  her  all  to  himself,  for  Polly  and  her 
brother  had  remembered  a  previous  dinner  engagement 
and  were  prevented  from  coming. 

"  It  will  have  to  be  years  and  years  as  father  will  never 
give  his  consent,"  said  Catherine,  shyly. 

"Only  days,"  asserted  the  youth,  "as  I  have  a  little 
house  all  ready  in  Jersey." 

"A  house!"  she  exclaimed,  and  he  continued,  "Yes,  it 
was  my  father's  place  once,  and  afterwards  a  ruin.  King 
ordered  it  rebuilt  and  now  all  it  needs  is  a  little  furniture 
—  and  you." 

Catherine  trembled  and  said,  "It  sounds  heavenly, 
John,  to  be  there  with  you  alone.  It's  all  so  strange,  and 
new,  and  beautiful.  But  how  father  will  rage  when  he 
knows.  You  don't  know  how  terrible  he  is  at  times,  but 
of  course  he  must  be  told." 

"I'll  tell  him." 

"  You  ?  "  and  she  looked  up  with  astonished  eyes. 

"Why,  yes,  of  course;  his  anger  won't  disturb  me. 
And  I  have  also  to  say  a  few  words  such  as  —  I  want  your 
daughter  now." 

Catherine  laughed  merrily  and  cried,  "  Oh,  John  — 
John." 

Rising  from  his  chair  he  went  to  Catherine  and  lifted 
her  out  of  her  seat.  Then  clasping  the  yielding  form  to 
him  he  whispered,  "My  Wife!"  The  girl  put  her  arms 
around  his  neck,  her  heart  thumping  tumultuously,  and 
he  whispered,  "  Will  you  come  with  me  to-night  ?  " 


132  The  Mechanic 

She  answered  by  patting  his  cheek  and  kissing  him, 
realizing  that  the  man  was  asking  for  his  picture. 

And  into  this  scene  strode  Lurgan,  awakening  the  girl 
from  her  ecstasy  by  shouting,  "You  low-down  scoun 
drel!" 

John,  carefully  lowering  Catherine  to  a  chair,  in  his 
imperturbable  way,  said  to  Lurgan,  "  Very  glad  you  came 
in,  as  I  want  to  talk  to  you  about  — "  But  he  got  no 
further,  for  Lurgan,  wild  with  rage,  picked  up  a  chair  and 
was  swinging  it  to  strike,  when  John  caught  his  arm  and, 
wrenching  the  chair  from  him,  continued,  "Take  care, 
you  are  not  now  striking  in  the  dark,  and  the  light  must 
be  fearsome  for  such  as  you." 

The  words  and  their  measured  sarcasm  made  Lurgan 
cry,  "What  in  hell  do  you  mean?  There's  the  door 
—  go!  How  dare  you  come  to  my  house  and  attempt 
my  daughter's  honor?" 

"  Father,  just  a  minute,  please.  I  love  John  and  have 
promised  to  marry  him." 

"Marry  him!"  shrieked  Lurgan,  "I'd  see  you  dead 
first.  Don't  you  see  that  he  is  blackguard  all  through  ?  " 

"Oh,  father,  don't!  The  courts  have  said  that  the 
process  is  his,  so  why  call  him  names  ?  He  doesn't  merit 
abuse,"  protested  Catherine,  looking  at  her  parent  with 
flashing  eyes. 

"  Do  you  dare  contradict  me  ?  "  and  in  his  rage  Lurgan 
pushed  her  away  from  him,  and  tripping  on  a  footstool 
she  fell  heavily  to  the  floor.  John,  very  pale,  tenderly 
picked  her  up  and,  carrying  her  into  the  hall,  said,  "  Get 
your  coat  and  hat  and  come  with  me."  Catherine 
dumbly  went  upstairs  and  John  walked  back  into  the 
room  where  Lurgan  was  stalking  up  and  down  like  an 
enraged  bull. 


Lurgan  Loses  133 

"  We  are  alone  now  for  a  minute  as  Catherine  has  gone 
upstairs  for  her  hat  and  coat." 

"  Hat  and  coat,"  gasped  Lurgan,  "  what  for  ?  " 

"  She  is  going  with  me  to-night,  of  course." 

"You  damned  impostor  and  thief!"  Lurgan  shrieked 
wildly,  "but  I'll  see  — " 

"  Stop  right  here  until  she  comes  down,  as  I  am  afraid 
that  you  may  strike  her  again.  And  as  she  now  belongs  to 
me,  another  offense  of  that  kind  would  make  me  violent." 

Lurgan  picked  up  the  fire-tongs  as  if  to  hurl  them  at 
John,  crying,  "  Get  out  of  my  way  or  I'll  brain  you." 

"  I  like  you  better  now,  and,  of  course,  I  hope  you  will 
carry  out  your  threat,"  John  said  slowly,  "as  I  should 
like  to  squeeze  that  throat  of  yours  the  way  my  uncle 
squeezed  the  hired  assassin  of  your  partners." 

"I  had  nothing  to  do  with  that,"  cried  Lurgan,  in  a 
fury,  but  John  saw  that  his  shaft  went  home,  and  he 
went  on  in  a  voice  like  the  snarl  of  an  angry  animal, 
"I  mean  to  hurt  you,  Lurgan,  as  you  have  hurt  me, 
and  by  God,  if  you  so  much  as  move  this  way  I'll  hold 
your  head  in  that  fire." 

The  banker  saw  that  Worth  meant  what  he  said  and 
remained  where  he  was.  Just  then  Catherine  opened 
the  door  and  told  John  that  she  was  ready.  Lurgan 
protested  fiercely  and  swore  that  he  would  disinherit  her, 
but  with  his  angry  words  ringing  in  their  ears,  they  went 
out  into  the  night,  the  girl  weeping  quietly. 

At  Fourth  Avenue  they  boarded  a  car  and  in  half  an 
hour  got  off  in  the  central  part  of  the  East  side.  So  far 
they  had  sat  in  silence,  the  girl  thinking  about  her  father, 
and  the  man  about  his  beautiful  picture. 

When  they  turned  into  a  gate,  Catherine,  looking  up, 
said,  "  What  place  is  this  ?  " 


134  The  Mechanic 

"  Dr.  Sawyer's.  His  daughters  will  look  after  you  until 
we  are  married." 

Holding  up  her  head,  in  a  trembling  voice  Catherine 
said,  "Let  me  kiss  you,  John." 

When  the  minister  came  to  the  door,  he  noted  with 
surprise  that  John  had  a  lady  with  him.  He  invited  them 
in,  and  when  they  were  in  the  sitting-room  and  the  doctor's 
daughters  were  making  Miss  Lurgan  comfortable,  John 
told  the  story  of  the  evening,  without  the  strong  side 
lights,  and  then  he  asked  Dr.  Sawyer  if  he  would  look 
after  Miss  Lurgan. 

The  Misses  Sawyer,  as  in  one  voice  cried,  "  Of  course 
we  will,  and  a  wedding!  How  delightful." 

Turning  to  John  the  doctor  said,  "I  will  do  as  you 
wish,  and  now,  girls,  off  to  bed,  as  Miss  Lurgan  must  be 
tired." 

When  they  had  left  the  room  the  minister  called  up 
Lurgan  by  telephone  and  told  him  where  his  daughter 
was.  This  message  raised  a  dead  weight  of  fear  that  had 
been  growing  into  Lurgan's  vitals,  for  the  morning-room 
contained  a  companion  portrait  to  that  of  Lurgan,  and  it 
was  of  Catherine's  sweet-faced  mother.  After  the  couple 
had  left  the  house,  this  picture  seemed  to  look  at  him 
accusingly,  and  he  would  have  given  worlds  to  recall  the 
hot  words  that  he  had  addressed  to  his  daughter.  Before 
the  message  came  he  was  thinking  that  Worth's  atten 
tions  toward  Catherine  could  not  be  honorable,  and  this 
thought  burned  him  like  hot  iron.  He  was  just  about  to 
start  a  hunt  for  her,  and  now  that  he  knew  of  her  safety, 
he  settled  down  for  the  night  feeling  certain  that  he  could 
induce  her  to  return  the  following  day.  He  had  told  the 
doctor  that  he  would  call  upon  him  early  in  the  morning, 
and  though  he  had  desired  to  say  more,  Dr.  Sawyer, 


Lurgan  Loses  135 

who  did  not  like  the  way  Lurgan  had  driven  his  young 
friend  Worth  from  pillar  to  post,  had  hung  up  the  receiver 
rather  abruptly. 

Turning  to  John,  he  said,  "  Now,  my  boy,  I  want  a  good 
clean  talk  with  you  about  to-night's  work.  Are  you 
treating  that  girl  right?  Before  you  answer,  let  me  say 
something  about  my  knowledge  of  your  character.  You 
grew  under  my  eyes  and,  always  liking  you,  I  have  fol 
lowed  with  affectionate  interest  every  step  that  you 
took.  But  I  am  bothered  about  you  to-night,  because 
I  somehow  see  a  terrible  motive  behind  this  act  of  yours. 
The  only  time  I  detected  the  brutal  part  of  your 
nature  was  during  the  riot.  Then  I  saw  you  naked, 
stripped  to  the  animal  within,  and  like  a  giant  you  brought 
order  out  of  chaos.  Then  I  saw  your  sufferings  under 
the  iron  heel  of  Lurgan's  company,  and  all  these  years  I 
never  heard  you  complain  and,  from  my  knowledge,  I 
know  you  went  hungry  many  a  night.  It  was  a  time  of 
heroic  suffering,  and  I  loved  your  heroism  and  your 
perseverance.  Then  your  uncle  was  murdered  and  still 
you  were  patient  and  kept  to  the  road  —  the  straight  road 
ahead." 

And  then  the  doctor  with  moist  eyes  said,  "Are  you 
on  the  straight  road  with  this  girl?  I  know  what  the 
world  says  and  believes  as  to  your  relative  positions,  but 
under  the  roof  of  God,  John,  you  are  that  girl's  superior 
in  every  respect,  and  you  know  it.  Now  I  see  again  the 
mad  fight  of  the  riot  and  your  endless  patience,  and  I 
know  of  your  great  talents,  so  tell  me  truly,  John,  are  you 
hurting  Lurgan  through  his  daughter?" 

"Yes." 

Just  that  little  word  was  spoken  quietly,  and  the  doctor 
said,  "I'll  perform  the  ceremony  if  she  wants  me  to, 


136  The  Mechanic 

because  I  don't  want  to  kill  that  last  spark  of  manhood 
that  compelled  you  to  bring  her  here.  But  I  am  disap 
pointed,  and  from  now  on  I  shall  not  speak  to  you,  John, 
and  this  will  hurt  me  more  than  it  will  you." 

"  Doctor,  aren't  you  harsh  ?  " 

"  Look,  John ;  take  that  girl  home  in  the  morning,  and 
shoot  Lurgan  if  you  wish.  Then  I'll  take  your  hand; 
but  to  hurt  that  child,  no  —  no  —  no,"  cried  the  minister, 
walking  up  and  down  the  room. 

"  I'm  sorry  we  part  so.     May  I  call  in  the  morning  ?  " 

"Yes,  John,  call  in  the  morning,  but  don't  speak  to 
me  until  your  heart  is  cleansed." 

Dr.  Sawyer's  daughters  were  waiting  to  hear  of  his 
talk  with  John,  and,  after  he  had  explained,  one  cried, 
"  Of  course,  father,  if  John  doesn't  love  her,  they  can't  get 
married.  That's  absurd." 

The  minister,  with  greater  knowledge  of  the  world,  said, 
"  John  has  grown  hard,  and  if  I  refused  to  perform  the 
ceremony  I  might  strangle  all  thought  of  his  mother  and 
honor,  and  as  that  girl  is  with  him  willingly,  I  am  going 
to  tie  her  to  him  if  she  asks  me  to." 

Early  in  the  morning  Lurgan  called  and  asked  for  his 
daughter;  he  was  shown  into  the  doctor's  study,  and  in 
a  few  minutes  Catherine  was  saying  pleasantly,  "Good 
morning,  father." 

Lurgan  looked  long  and  searchingly  at  his  daughter 
and  answered,  "  Has  he  hurt  you  ?  " 

It  took  Catherine  a  few  seconds,  together  with  the  hard 
look  in  her  father's  eyes,  to  grasp  his  meaning.  Then, 
cut  to  the  soul,  she  became  incensed  and  did  not  answer. 
She  walked  from  the  room  and  went  upstairs. 

Lurgan,  still  bitter  and  hostile,  then  asked  for  Dr. 
Sawyer,  and  when  the  minister  came  into  the  room  he 


Lurgan  Loses  137 

said  peremptorily,  "I  think  this  escapade  has  gone  far 
enough,  and  I  want  my  daughter." 

"  I  talked  with  her  this  morning,"  the  minister  replied, 
"  and,  as  well  as  I  could,  pointed  out  the  seriousness  of 
the  step  that  she  was  taking.  I  even  urged  her  to  go 
home,  but  I  was  most  careful  to  make  her  understand 
that  I  was  a  friend  upon  whom  she  could  rely." 

"And  what  did  she  say?" 

"  That  she  was  going  to  marry  John  Worth." 

"Impossible!"  shouted  Lurgan.  "I  won't  have  it! 
Have  I  nothing  to  say  in  the  matter  ?  " 

"  Why  not  go  to  her  now  and  say,  *  Come,  daughter,  and 
be  married  from  home.' " 

"  Do  you  think  I'm  crazy  ?  " 

"I  have  made  a  perfectly  sane  suggestion  to  you,  as 
neither  you  nor  I  have  the  authority  or  the  power  to 
stop  them.  The  girl  is  willing,  nay,  anxious,  to  trust  her 
future  to  the  man,  and  that  being  the  case,  why  not  give 
the  marriage,  which  is  bound  to  take  place,  your  sanction  ?  " 

"  I'd  see  her  dead  first.  I  hate  that  low-down  mechanic." 

"Take  care,  Mr.  Lurgan.  I  have  argued  with  both 
against  this  marriage,  especially  with  Worth,  and  he  loses 
my  esteem  if  he  insists  on  the  wedding  taking  place;  but 
I  don't  like  to  hear  him  defamed  by  one  of  the  men  who 
have  made  him  hard  and  relentless." 

"  Then  he  is  marrying  my  daughter  for  revenge  ?  " 

The  minister,  drawing  his  tall  form  erect,  in  a  vibrant 
voice  exclaimed,  "Yes;  because  you  and  others  destroyed 
his  uncle." 

Lurgan's  red  face  took  on  a  deeper  tinge  as  he  cried, 
"I  had  nothing  to  do  with  that;  I  swear." 

"Do  you  mean  to  stand  there  and  tell  me  that  that 
assassin  killed  a  demented  man  for  the  pure  joy  of  killing, 


138  The  Mechanic 

and  that  the  sleuths  who  were  hounding  Worth  to  starva 
tion  were  ghosts  of  his  imagination  and  mine  ?  " 

"  I  admit  knowing  about  the  spies,  but  as  to  the  other  — 
well,  I  am  not  built  that  way." 

"  A  beautiful  distinction,  surely,"  the  doctor  remarked, 
with  a  sneer.  "You  are  willing  enough,  so  you  say,  to 
kill  a  man's  soul,  but  you  wouldn't  kill  his  body.  I  like 
the  assassin  best  —  seems  more  manly  and  straightfor 
ward." 

"You  don't  understand  business." 

Doctor  Sawyer  said  no  more,  but  quietly  and  with 
bent  head  left  the  room. 

On  arriving  at  his  home  that  night,  Lurgan  found  a 
note  from  his  daughter,  and  he  tore  the  envelope  with  a 
beating  heart;  but  it  was  not  what  he  hoped,  as  it  read, 
"I  am  to  be  married  Monday  morning  at  eleven  o'clock 
in  Dr.  Sawyer's  church.  Do  come  and  wish  us  both 
God  speed."  In  his  misery  Lurgan  groaned  aloud,  and 
later  he  heard  the  newsboys  crying  in  shrill  voices, 
"  Lurgan's  Daughter  Marries  The  Mechanic."  He  knew 
then  that  nothing  could  prevent  what  to  him  was  an 
awful  catastrophe,  and  he  made  no  further  move.  The 
next  day,  when  he  saw  knots  of  men  talking  together,  he 
realized  that  their  topic  was  the  coming  wedding,  and 
he  bent  his  machine-like  faculties  upon  his  work.  His 
friends  remarked  that  he  looked  like  an  enraged  bull,  and 
a  few  felt  sorry  for  him. 

Even  King,  who  had  no  reason  to  like  the  banker,  felt 
a  distinct  sensation  of  pity  for  the  stricken  man,  but  he 
was  very  practical  in  his  ideas  of  life,  so  he  said  to  John 
who  called  to  ask  him  to  the  wedding,  "She  is  a  very 
fine  girl  and  I  wish  you  both  happiness.  I'll  go  to  the 
church,  of  course.  Where  do  you  go  afterwards  ?  " 


Lurgan  Loses  139 

"  As  I  have  business  in  Washington,  we  will  go  there  for 
three  days." 

King  noted  the  word  business  and  the  definite  state 
ment  as  to  time  and,  going  to  his  ticker,  he  smiled  at  it, 
and  then  demanded,  "And  then?" 

"  To  that  little  house  on  the  factory  property  in  Jersey." 

"John,  I  have  known  Catherine  since  she  was  a  little 
tot,  and  if  you  don't  mind,  I  should  like  to  furnish  that 
place  as  a  wedding  present,"  and  after  a  few  seconds 
he  added,  "for  her." 

"  I  am  sure  she  would  like  that,"  John  replied. 

Something  in  these  words,  or  rather  in  the  way  they 
were  uttered,  made  King  sorry  that  he  had  accentuated 
the  wedding  present  as  being  purely  for  Catherine,  so  he 
said,  "  If  you  are  not  engaged  at  the  parsonage  to-morrow 
evening,  come  and  dine  with  me  at  the  Frontenac." 

John,  appreciating  the  compliment,  said,  "As  I'm 
barred  from  the  minister's  and  Catherine,  I  accept,  with 
pleasure." 

"Barred,"  echoed  King. 

John  answered  the  unvoiced  question  by  saying,  "Dr. 
Sawyer  thinks  I  am  not  doing  the  right  thing  by  Miss 
Lurgan  and  has  withdrawn  his  friendship  — " 

"And  yet  he  marries  you,"  broke  in  King. 

"He  is  fearful  that  if  he  refused  I  might  omit  that 
detail."  And  now  a  note  in  John's  voice  made  King 
glad  that  he  had  asked  him  to  dinner.  "  I  have  given 
them  two  whole  days  to  change  the  girl's  mind,  of  course 
reserving  the  right  of  governing  my  own  actions  in  case 
they  should  influence  her  against  me." 

King  said  softly,  "That  sounds  very  fair,  but  your 
words  seem  lacking  in  warmth.  I'm  thinking  of  the  girl, 
not  your  courage." 


140  The  Mechanic 

"I  measure  everything  from  now  on  by  cold  reason," 
John  laughingly  exclaimed.  "  I  have  buried  sentiment." 

King,  wishing  to  change  the  subject,  for  he  did  not 
like  this  side  of  John,  said,  "  How  is  your  patent  case 
coming  on  ?  " 

Again  King  saw  another  expression  glide  into  John's 
face,  a  subtle  change  which  he  could  not  define. 

Talking  slowly,  with  the  wonder  of  his  mind  in  his 
words,  John  answered,  "  It's  very  odd,  but  there  seems  to 
be  some  impelling  force  shoving  the  suit  forward  in 
Washington  as  in  Minnesota.  But  I'm  not  going  to  the 
capital  on  that  account,  as  I  received  a  letter  from  the 
President  on  my  arrival  in  New  York"  —  John  did  not 
say  that  it  was  congratulating  him  on  winning  his  fight 
in  Minnesota — "  and  he  asked  me  to  come  to  Washington 
on  a  business  matter.  He  seems  to  possess  gratitude, 
which  is  a  quaint  thing  to  find  nowadays." 

On  Sunday,  John  dined  with  King,  who  had  invited  a 
few  others,  and  the  old  man  took  pleasure  in  showing 
Worth  to  that  section  of  New  York  that  was  damning 
him  unmercifully.  Soon  it  was  known  throughout  the 
hotel  who  the  guest  of  honor  at  King's  table  was,  and  the 
host  was  proud  of  the  sensation  that  "  The  Mechanic  "  was 
making.  That  night  John  killed  the  last  remnant  of 
what  is  called  suspicion  in  the  mind  of  his  business 
associate. 

Catherine  was  devoting  this  evening  to  dreams,  seem 
ingly  sure  of  the  morrow  of  her  life,  for  when  the  doctor, 
trying  to  be  fair  to  John,  said,  "  I  am  not  sure  that  he 
loves  you.  I  am  not  sure  that  his  motive  is  not  revenge 
on  your  father,"  the  girl  smiled  sweetly,  remembering  only 
that  little  kiss  which  she  gave  John  in  the  walk  by  the 
door,  which  was  her  way  of  thanking  him  for  her  honor. 


Lurgan  Loses  141 

Many  flocked  to  the  wedding,  among  them  a  number 
of  Catherine's  friends,  but,  of  course,  the  great  crowd  was 
for  the  groom,  their  John,  as  he  was  called  by  the  dense 
mass  of  people.  To  him  and  his  bride  were  sent  up 
cheer  after  cheer  as  they  left  the  church  for  the  train. 
And  that  evening  they  were  in  Washington  alone,  man 
and  wife. 

It  did  not  add  anything  to  Lurgan's  love  for  John  to 
read  in  his  morning  paper  a  few  days  later  a  long  account 
of  the  dinner  that  the  President's  wife  had  given  to  the 
Worths.  Nor  did  it  add  to  his  complacency  to  see  the 
shadow  that  was  growing  between  him  and  Playfellow. 
For  "prayerful"  was  now  exhorting  God  to  deliver  him 
from  his  weak  friends,  and  the  more  he  called  on  the 
Almighty,  the  more  certain  he  was  that  Lurgan  was  weak, 
for  had  he  not  said  in  organ-like  tones,  when  told  of 
Catherine,  "See  my  family,  how  obedient  —  how  holy." 

The  banker,  smiling  grimly,  saw  that  Playfellow  and 
his  "Man  Friday,"  were  planning  ahead  so  as  to  make 
it  easy  to  say,  "  It  was  through  your  fault  that  we  lost  the 
steel  suit,"  and  to  avert  possible  disaster  they  tried  to 
unload  their  stock  on  the  public.  But  the  public  was 
waiting  for  the  last  word  of  the  law  of  the  land,  and  their 
eyes  on  this  last  word  saw  only  the  man  who  had  married 
Lurgan's  daughter,  Catherine. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE   STEEL   DECISION 

"MR.  WORTH,  I  sent  for  you  because  I  want  you  to 
engage  Harold  Tyndale  as  counsel  in  your  appeal  against 
American  Steel.  I  cannot  now  tell  you  why  it  will  be 
best  for  you  to  do  this,  because  I'm  bound,  and  willingly 
so,  to  secrecy.  I  hope  that  you  will  rely  upon  my  word 
when  I  state  emphatically  that  your  interests  won't  suffer 
by  permitting  Tyndale  to  address  the  Supreme  Court 
judges.  I  may  say  that  I  have  met  this  lawyer  and  like 
him,  and  you  know,  I  am  sure,  that  he  is  clever  and  a 
great  orator." 

The  President  ceased  speaking,  for  he  saw  by  a  look 
on  John's  face  that  he  was  not  altogether  satisfied  with 
the  proposal.  He  then  continued  carefully,  enunciating 
each  word,  "Tyndale  did  not  make  this  proposal  to  me; 
it  came  from  a  legal,  not  a  political  source.  Also  remem 
ber  that  I  have  started  an  investigation  into  Oil  and 
their  methods,  and  don't  forget  the  circumstances  of 
Bachmann's  death  and  that  his  wife  was  Harold  Tyndale's 
sister." 

Startled  by  the  impressive  manner  of  the  President, 
John  answered,  "Very  good,  Mr.  President,  I'll  engage 
Tyndale." 

From  the  President's  remarks,  Worth  felt  that  Tyndale 
was  to  head  a  force  working  through  and  with  his  patent 
suit,  and  he  exclaimed,  "Sister?  How  odd!  I  have 


The  Steel  Decision  143 

always  had  the  impression  that  Bachmann  was  got  at, 
but  his  suicide  was  queer,  because  it  didn't  fit  the  other 
part  which  I  am  sure  he  played.  There  is  something 
wanting,  as  a  void  exists  between  his  remarkable  surrender 
to  the  trust  and  his  suicide.  I  suppose  Tyndale  holds  the 
key." 

The  President,  seeing  that  Worth  was  reading  causes 
well,  answered :  "  Germans  —  and  Bachmann  was  a  Ger 
man  —  do  not  possess  by  inheritance  our  easy  way  of 
assimilating  new  codes,  new  ideas,  and  new  morals. 
When  they  have  been  in  business  as  long  as  we  have  as 
a  nation  they  will  read  success  as  many  of  our  men  read 
that  word,  and  then  they  will  have  fewer  Bachmanns  and 
fewer  suicides.  But  now  that  our  business  is  finished,  I 
may  say  that  your  abduction  of  Lurgan's  daughter,  for 
that  is  how  the  papers  term  it,  pleases  me  hugely,  and  I 
again  wish  you  all  kinds  of  prosperity  and  happiness. 
Au  revoir  until  this  evening,  when  we  are  to  have  the 
pleasure  of  your  company  at  dinner.  Your  wife  and  my 
daughter  being  old  friends,  we  take  pleasure  hi  entertaining 
you  both." 

It  was  this  dinner,  a  very  elaborate  affair,  that  hurt 
Lurgan,  because  the  knowledge  that  his  daughter  had  not 
dropped  out  of  sight  in  marrying  Worth,  was  then  thrust 
home  to  him. 

But  that  was  only  one  of  many  entertainments  that 
were  given  in  their  honor,  for  Catherine,  free  from  leading 
strings  and  enjoying  a  liberty  which  in  her  case  was  not 
an  abstract  term,  was  learning  that  she  possessed  great 
power  to  attract  in  herself.  And,  loving  her  husband 
idolatrously,  she  nerved  herself  to  effort  and  found  it 
easy  to  remain  not  only  America's  first  heiress,  but  one 
of  its  first  women.  Her  visit  to  Washington  was  her 


144  The  Mechanic 

first  independent  touch  at  the  world,  for,  after  the  dinner 
with  the  President,  she  became  the  fashion,  not  only  in 
Washington  but  also  in  New  York.  But  those  who 
looked  upon  her  husband  only  as  an  attachment  to 
a  beautiful  woman  were  very  soon  made  to  see  that  her 
life  was  bound  up  in  the  man  whom  she  called  master. 

She  was,  perhaps,  the  last  word  in  the  evolution  of 
class,  an  actuality  if  not  a  phrase,  more  dear  to  the  Amer 
ican  than  to  the  people  of  any  other  nation;  the  charm 
of  her  character  was  now  being  felt,  and  her  great  talents 
and  beauty  made  it  easy  for  her  to  keep  the  position  to 
which  birth  as  Lurgan's  daughter  entitled  her. 

Before  they  left  Washington  a  wire  from  Willie  read: 
"  Get  off  at  Newark;  telegraph  train."  At  Newark  Willie 
met  them  and,  with  a  luminous  countenance,  exclaimed, 
"I'm  a  committee  of  one  to  escort  you  to  your  house," 
and  turning  to  Catherine  he  asked,  "Have  you  been 
good?" 

"Beautiful,"  she  replied;  "and  I'm  afraid  —  but  may 
I  call  you  Willie  ?  It  seems  a  great  liberty,  but  really  the 
name  fits,  if  I  may  say  so. " 

And  Radley  answered,  "  Of  course;  but"  —  and  then  he 
assumed  a  long  face,  saying,  "You  won't  flirt  with  me, 
will  you  ? "  and  Catherine,  laughing  heartily,  exclaimed, 
"  I  won't,  '  me '  promise,"  and  with  those  words,  and  her 
eyes  full  of  pleasure,  she  won  Willie's  heart. 

When  Catherine  was  escorted  to  her  home  she  found 
it  a  fairy  place  surrounded  by  trees,  open  country,  and 
the  factory  in  the  distance.  At  home  that  night,  in  giving 
an  account  to  his  family,  Willie  said,  "She's  'torobred' 
all  through,"  and  this  remark  traveled  in  the  East  side 
and  Catherine  was  made  holy  thereby. 

In  two  months  Catherine,  John,  and  King  were  again 


The  Steel  Decision  145 

in  the  capital,  for  the  great  appeal  was  on  for  hearing. 
Mrs.  Worth  listened  to  the  argument  step  after  step,  day 
following  day.  She  noted,  in  the  court  room  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  that  her  husband  was  not  the  man  she  knew.  Ex 
ternal  appearances  were  the  same  so  far  as  concerned  man 
ner  and  style,  for  he  was  as  cool  and  easy  as  at  the  factory, 
but  the  mind  that  worked  was  different  —  so  different  that 
Catherine  watched  him  with  rapt  attention. 

He  was  continually  giving  hints  in  a  low  voice  to  Mr. 
Tyndale,  and,  although  an  enormous  sum  of  money  de 
pended  on  the  outcome  of  the  appeal,  he  was  so  calm  and 
unruffled  that  Catherine  entirely  lost  her  first  feeling  of 
anger  at  seeing  arrayed  against  him  and  Mr.  Tyndale 
many  lawyers  of  national  renown,  for  the  Steel  people 
were  fighting  for  existence  and  had  secured  a  number  of 
the  ablest  men  in  the  country  to  handle  their  case. 

Turning  to  Mr.  King  in  the  afternoon  session  of 
the  first  day,  Catherine  said,  "Is  it  possible  that  all 
the  facts  in  this  great  case  were  welded  together  by 
John?" 

"  I  am  studying  John,  as  well  as  the  case,"  answered 
the  old  man  of  Wall  Street,  "and  somehow  it  seems  to 
me  that  the  others  are  pawns  in  his  hands  and  he  is 
placing  them  to  suit  his  own  ends." 

Catherine  smiled  and  again  gave  her  attention  to  the 
proceedings.  Her  interest  did  not  flag  as  she,  too,  was 
studying  this  cold,  cynical  man  who  was  her  husband. 
It  was  her  first  introduction  to  the  world  of  business,  her 
first  peep  at  war  as  an  attachment  of  civilization,  and  she 
marveled  that  language  contained  so  much  power  to 
hurt,  for  she  felt  keenly  the  shafts  aimed  at  her  husband. 
He,  however,  did  not  seem  to  mind  and  always  smiled 
when  some  point  was  made  against  him,  and  often  she 


146  The  Mechanic 

wondered  why  the  opposing  counsel  did  not  become  ex 
asperated  at  Mr.  Tyndale,  but  they,  too,  smiled  in 
apparent  enjoyment. 

It  was  all  queer  and  interesting,  and  she  was  really 
sorry  when  John  said,  "  To-morrow  will  see  it  all  over  — 
even  to  arguments  for  and  against."     And  John,  who  had 
grown  to  like  his  counsel,  wondered  what  his  closing 
argument  would  be. 

After  dinner  Tyndale  called,  and  when  King  rose  to  go 
to  his  room,  the  lawyer  followed.  When  the  two  men 
were  outside,  Tyndale  said,  "  I  have  some  papers  which 
I  should  like  to  show  you  to-night,  and  if  you  can  spare 
me  a  moment  I  think  I  can  promise  to  make  you  take 
the  midnight  train  to  New  York." 

King  looked  searchingly  at  Tyndale  and  answered, 
"I  don't  believe  you  can  do  that,"  but  after  he  had 
read  Bachmann's  confession  and  the  Hodges  letters, 
he  cried,  "That's  terrible.  And  you  bring  this  out 
to-morrow  ?  " 

"  I  will  try  to  do  so,  and  I  tell  you  to-night  so  that  you 
may  harass  them  in  Wall  Street.  For  the  blood  in  this 
case  is  not  going  to  make  Worth's  damages  any  less,  nor 
is  it  going  to  help  them  in  the  eyes  of  the  public." 

In  the  morning  John  found  a  note  from  King  stating 
that  he  had  been  called  to  New  York  on  business  of  great 
importance. 

When  court  opened  the  following  day,  Tyndale  arose 
and  gravely  said:  "If  your  Honors  please,  I  desire  to 
amend  the  record  on  appeal  by  inserting  therein  cer 
tain  documents";  at  the  same  time,  amidst  profound 
silence,  producing  his  brother-in-law's  and  Hodges' 
letters.  When  he  began  reading  them  all  eyes  at  once 
were  turned  upon  Hodges  whose  face  became  very 


The  Steel  Decision  147 

pale,  showing  clearly  the  seams  that  David  Worth's 
blows  had  made.  The  lawyers  for  the  defense  im 
mediately  objected  strongly  to  the  insertion  in  the 
record  of  the  letters,  and  were  sustained  by  the  court. 
Tyndale,  having  created  the  effect  he  desired,  cared,  in 
fact,  not  one  whit  whether  the  letters  became  part  of  the 
record  or  not. 

On  his  part,  John  now  knew  why  the  President  had  been 
so  insistent,  and  he  eagerly  awaited  his  lawyer's  closing 
speech,  satisfied  that  he  and  his  patent  suit  had  merged 
into  something  much  greater  and  grander  than  a  point 
of  law  or  a  matter  of  simple  equity.  He  remembered 
the  President's  words,  "  I  am  investigating  Oil  on  my 
own  account,"  and  now  he  gave  Tyndale  his  keen  atten 
tion. 

"From  their  annual  reports,"  he  was  saying  in  cool, 
dispassionate  tones,  "and  more  especially  the  private 
report  which  they  sent  out  broadcast  after  the  New  York 
Court  of  Appeals  decided  in  their  favor,  you  will  observe 
that  the  Steel  Trust  has  made  from  the  Worth  patent 
more  than  sixty-one  million  dollars.  When  they  sent 
out  the  private  report  they  felt  certain  that  the  case  had 
been  decided  for  all  time,  and  so  felt  it  was  safe  not  only  to 
give  to  the  public  a  full  account  of  the  process  which 
enabled  them  to  strengthen  their  position  by  a  large 
addition  to  their  working  capital,  but  also  to  state  that 
hereafter  they  would  never  pay  a  less  dividend  than  ten 
per  cent  on  their  common  stock." 

And  Tyndale,  looking  at  the  judges,  continued,  "You 
can  now  estimate  the  business  value,  if  I  may  put  it  that 
way,  of  the  Worth  patent.  I  think  I  have  already  shown 
you  upon  what  flimsy  legal  grounds  their  case  rests. 
Their  own  counsel,  even,  are  clearly  of  my  opinion  in  this, 


148  The  Mechanic 

otherwise  they  would  not,  in  the  New  York  suit  as  in 
Minnesota,  and  also  here,  have  laid  their  chief  stress  on 
the  good  they  have  done  with  the  process,  and  have  taken 
pains  to  point  out  how  terrible  it  would  be  for  the  working 
man  if  this  patent  were  taken  from  them.  That  is  an 
old  device,  as  old  as  our  laws  themselves.  These  men 
who  control  American  industries  have  proved  to  their 
own  entire  satisfaction  that  they  are  the  anointed  ones, 
and  that  they  are  robed  with  the  Almighty's  authority. 
Without  them  as  vicars  they  endeavor  to  maintain  that 
the  social  and  moral  fabrics  of  this  country  would 
crumble  to  hopeless  ruin,  and  so  when  our  poor  laws 
stand  in  their  way  they  resort  to  bribery.  Think  of 
that,"  cried  Tyndale,  in  a  hoarse,  compelling  voice, 
"they  bribe,  and  by  means  of  bribery  they  kill  — 
as  witness  Judge  Bachmann."  Despite  the  clamorous 
objections  of  the  lawyers  for  the  defense  he  continued 
in  a  passionate  voice:  "They  bought  my  brother-in- 
law  for  a  million  dollars,  and  he,  mocked  at  and 
deserted  by  his  partners  in  the  crime,  offered  as  a 
sacrifice  the  life  they  had  desolated,  and  went  to  trial 
before  his  God.  I  have  read  you  the  letter  he  wrote 
to  his  wife,  and  as  I  have  not  Bachmann's  sensitive 
ness,  I  have  brought  the  whole  transaction  to  the  light. 
It  is  evident  that  the  contract  with  Bachmann,  though 
not  in  Hodges'  hand,  was  practically  written  by  him. 
Therefore  I  believe  every  word  that  he  has  written  as 
to  his  visits  to  Playfellow  and  Hodges,  and  I  give  full 
credit  to  Hodges  and  Playfellow  for  the  bribery  of  Judge 
Bachmann." 

Turning  to  the  judges  he  cried,  "  I  ask  you,  for  you 
have  the  power,  to  make  those  men  pay  the  penalty  of 
theft.  I  have  proved  that  they  appropriated  the  Worth 


The  Steel  Decision  149 

patents,  and  I  ask  you  to  remember  that  through  the 
weakness  of  Bachmann  they  insulted  the  law  of  this 
country  and  arrogated  to  themselves  a  court  of  final 
jurisdiction.  I  beg  you  to  remember  also  that  there  is 
blood  on  their  hands.  I  solicit  you  to  pay  tribute  to  the 
man  who  worked  his  way  to  Minnesota  that  he  might,  in 
another  circuit,  get  that  which  was  lost  to  him  by  a 
conspiracy  of  bribery." 

Tyndale  sat  down  and  there  was  a  silence  like  that  of 
a  great  forest,  and  in  silence  the  crowd  in  court  went  their 
differing  ways,  all  confident  that  Worth  had  won  his 
suit  and  that  the  Steel  Company  would  finally  have  to 
pay  an  enormous  bill  of  damages. 

John  took  his  lawyer's  hand  and  pressed  it,  saying, 
"  I'm  sorry  for  that  which  grieves  you.  I'm  glad  we  are 
friends." 

"  I  satisfied  you  then  ?  " 

"Very  much";  and  the  men  parted,  as  both  were  strong 
and  hid  their  feelings,  but  both  knew  that  time  would 
bring  them  together  again.  But  John's  satisfaction 
was  equaled  by  Hodges'  discomfiture,  for  the  latter  was 
hissed  as  he  left  the  court.  He  hurried  to  New  York 
and  in  the  morning  called  on  Playfellow,  that  they  might 
discuss  matters  on  their  way  down  town.  He  had  read 
in  the  morning  papers  of  King's  sensational  attack  on 
Steel,  and  the  business  situation  generally  was  bad  from 
the  point  of  view  of  his  pocket,  the  only  soul  he  possessed. 

Playfellow  decided  that  Lurgan  must  arrange  matters 
with  his  son-in-law,  and  when  he  and  Hodges  called  on 
the  banker  to  point  out  his  imperative  duty,  Lurgan  did 
not  like  their  methods  and  frankly  told  them  so.  In 
three  weeks  the  Supreme  Court  rendered  its  decision, 
which  was  unreservedly  in  Worth's  favor.  The  Steel 


150  The  Mechanic 

Company  were  ordered  to  stop  at  once  all  mills  that  were 
working  the  Worth  invention.  But  this  was  as  nothing 
to  the  enormous  damages  awarded  the  inventor,  only  one 
month  being  allowed  in  which  to  pay  the  vast  sum.  When 
Harold  Tyndale  read  the  decision  he  smiled  and  said  to 
himself,  "  I  am  satisfied,  for  to-day." 

The  three  men  responsible  for  the  great  theft,  as  it 
was  called,  hurried  to  King's  office  only  to  be  told  that 
he  could  not  do  anything  for  them,  and  that  Worth  very 
likely  would  not  treat  with  them.  But  they  urged  and 
urged  for  a  meeting,  and  King  finally  arranged  it.  Speak 
ing  to  Playfellow,  Lurgan,  and  Hodges,  John  said,  "I 
haven't  any  more  to  say  now  than  I  had  when  I  last  met 
you.  I  shall  not  sell  nor  shall  I  permit  you  to  use  my 
process;  and  if  you  don't  pay  the  damages  to  the  hour, 
I'll  sell  you  out.  I  hope  I  have  made  myself  clear." 

King  walked  to  the  ticker,  as  was  his  habit,  and  laughed 
easily,  liking  the  iron  words  and  the  iron  manner.  Play 
fellow,  raising  his  eyes  toward  heaven,  cried :  "  Oh,  Lord, 
I  beseech  you  to  move  this  young  man  to  the  path  of 
duty."  Then  King  turned,  startled,  for  he  heard  John 
say  in  a  voice  that  made  him  shiver  as  from  a  cold  blast 
of  wind,  "Stop  that,  you  bloodsucker."  Playfellow 
fell  back  in  his  chair  as  though  stricken.  Turning  to 
Lurgan,  John  said,  "I  hear  from  Catherine  that  I  was 
mistaken  in  thinking  that  you  would  descend  to  cold 
murder,  and  I  harbor  no  ill-will  as  to  your  business 
methods.  But  to  these  two  here,"  and  John  glared  at 
Playfellow  and  Hodges,  "I  say  that  if  ever  again  they 
raise  the  knife  to  me  or  mine,  that  I  will  cut  their  throats 
with  no  more  compunction  than  I  would  crush  the  life 
out  of  a  reptile." 

In  his  smooth,  even  tone,  for  he  did  not  like  the  way 


The  Steel  Decision  151 

John  was  looking  at  Hodges,  King  then  said,  "If  Mr. 
Playfellow  and  his  partner  will  be  good  enough  to  with 
draw  and  not  again  intrude  upon  me,  they  will  be  laying 
me  under  a  deep  obligation."  The  two  dazed  men  silently 
withdrew,  it  being  the  first  time  since  they  had  grown  to 
power  that  they  had  been  ordered  out  of  an  office. 

When  they  had  gone,  King  cried,  "  Lurgan,  shake  hands 
with  John." 

Lurgan,  in  deep  study,  thinking  of  what  Worth  had 
said,  jumped  up  and  exclaimed,  "Never  in  my  life," 
and  stalked  out,  banging  the  door. 

King  laughed.  "He  is  coming  around;  I  know  him." 
After  a  moment's  silence  he  continued,  picking  up  a 
former  conversation  with  John,  "  Why  not  buy  a  mill  in 
Pittsburg  ?  " 

"None  are  modern  enough  and  all  are  too  far  away; 
my  scheme  calls  for  a  mill  where  the  iron  stone  is." 

"Do  we  build  more  than  one?" 

"Two;  one  south  and  one  on  Lake  Superior." 

"  How  is  my  machine  getting  on  ?  " 

"Bully;  but  why  don't  you  come  and  see  the  shop?" 
asked  John. 

"All  right,  any  day  you  say." 

"  To-morrow  then,  and  Catherine  will  meet  you  at  the 
station  and  show  you  about.  I  go  West  to-night." 


CHAPTER  XIV 

WILLIE   RADLEY   ASSISTS 

THE  following  day  King  saw  the  works  in  Jersey  and 
noticed  with  keen  delight  the  order,  the  method,  and  the 
great  number  of  men  employed.  He  was  at  last  a  pro 
ducer,  and  joyously  he  said  to  Catherine,  "I  wonder  if 
they  have  any  orders  yet  ?  " 

She  looked  surprised  and  exclaimed,  "Hasn't  John 
told  you?" 

"Not  a  word." 

"This  is  real  jolly;  come  to  the  office.  Oh!  I  know 
every  inch  of  the  shop,  and  really,  I  believe  I  am  getting 
mechanical;  it's  such  fun  coming  here  to  see  John  and 
the  others  work!" 

When  King  saw  the  books  he  cried,  "  Orders  ahead  for 
seven  hundred!  Isn't  that  great!"  But  what  held  his 
eye  were  the  letter-heads,  in  the  corner  of  which  he  saw 
in  small  letters,  "  James  King  —  John  Worth,  Proprie 
tors."  And  nothing  in  that  day  of  pleasure  equaled  his 
delight  at  seeing  his  name  there. 

To  Hadley,  the  foreman  of  the  shop,  he  said,  "How 
many  machines  are  you  making?" 

"One  thousand." 

"Don't  seem  enough,  eh,  Mrs.  Worth?" 

"That's  what  I  tell  John." 

"Do  you  suppose  he  would  get  cross  and  say  things 
to  me  if  I  should  order  another  thousand  ?  " 

152 


Willie  Radley  Assists  153 

"  Why,  I  think  he  would  be  delighted  to  know  that  you 
took  so  much  interest." 

Then  turning  to  Hadley,  King  gave  him  an  order, 
which  the  foreman  promised  to  execute  at  once. 

King  wondered  what  sort  of  an  abode  he  was  going  to, 
as  the  fact  of  Catherine's  living  near  the  factory  had 
always  worried  him.  But  when  he  was  told  that  the 
house  he  saw  in  the  distance  was  home,  he  felt  relieved, 
and  more  so  when  he  entered,  for  he  never  had  seen  a 
prettier  place.  The  grounds,  the  lawn,  and  the  trees, 
now  growing  into  summer  beauty,  made  King  exclaim 
that  it  was  a  charming  picture.  He  wondered  if  Catherine 
had  yet  discovered  that  John  did  not  love  her,  for  the 
old  man  was  as  fond  of  this  dark  beauty  as  if  she  were 
his  own  child.  He  hoped  to  read  a  thought  or  sugges 
tion  that  would  give  him  a  lead,  but  Catherine  gave  no 
sign. 

Shortly  the  world  knew  that  King  and  Worth  were 
building  two  immense  steel  mills.  The  individual  mill 
owners  included  in  the  American  Steel  Company  got 
together  and  called  on  King.  He  said  to  them,  "  If  you 
reorganize  and  throw  out  Playfellow  and  Hodges,  we  may 
talk  business.  Dropping  these  men  may  be  difficult,  as 
Playfellow  owns  a  large  amount  of  your  bonds,  which  he 
got  for  his  ore-fields,  and  Hodges'  steel  mill  gave  him  a 
big  lot  of  bonds  and  Preferred."  Then  King  added, 
"  I'm  afraid  I  am  not  holding  out  much  hope,  but  frankly, 
I  see  only  one  way,  and  that  is  to  wind  up  your  company; 
and  if  you  do  that,  we'll  buy  all  your  mills  at  inventory 
prices,  and  all  your  steamers  and  lands  as  well.  That  is, 
all  except  the  lands  originally  owned  by  Playfellow  and 
Hodges,  or  you  may,  as  individuals,  retain  your  mills; 
we  will  let  you  have  our  process  for  nothing." 


154  The  Mechanic 

The  speaker  for  the  mill  owners  looked  with  surprise 
at  King  and  said,  "  I'm  afraid  I  didn't  get  that  right." 

"I  am  merely  quoting  Mr.  Worth,  who  is  not  seeking 
to  hurt  you,"  King  said  firmly,  "  though  it  may  be  neces 
sary  for  him  to  do  so  in  order  to  get  at  others.  When 
we  have  sent  your  company  to  the  wall,  as  we  shall  have 
to  do,  come  back,  and  Worth,  who  is  at  all  times  and 
seasons  a  man  of  his  word,  will  give  you  his  process  for 
one  dollar  a  year  rental.  He  will  do  this,  but  he  will 
make  with  each  of  you  one  stipulation  that  will  not 
in  any  way  affect  your  business,  or  your  prices,  or  your 
right  to  combine  on  prices,  or  to  do  anything  and  every 
thing  you  damn  please.  This  stipulation  is  that  no  one 
of  you  can  sell  his  plant,  or  any  part  thereof,  without 
first  consulting  Mr.  Worth." 

"  In  other  words,  you  want  to  again  establish  a  number 
of  independent  mills,  each  working  out  its  own  salvation, 
and  for  fairness  all  around  you  will  let  us  have  the  process 
but  we  must  not  sell  any  part  of  our  property  to  Hodges 
or  Playfellow  ?  " 

"You  have  stated  the  case  exactly." 

"Say,  Mr.  King,  Worth  seems  to  be  a  good  deal  of  a 
man,  and  you  don't  trail  far  behind  in  that  respect.  But 
your  big  mills  will  make  it  difficult  for  us." 

"No,  for  when  we  have  accomplished  our  purpose  we 
stop  making  brittle  steel.  That  will  give  you  seventy 
per  cent  of  the  home  market.  We  are  going  in  for  battle 
ships,  guns,  foreign  business,  and  so  forth." 

"  Is  that  why  you  refused  to  sell  the  foreign  patents  ?  " 

"It  is." 

"Worth  must  be  a  quaint  character  to  refuse  the 
colossal  amount  he  was  offered  for  the  English  rights 
alone." 


Willie  Radley  Assists  155 

"I  don't  always  understand  him,"  King  confessed. 
"I  am  merely  backing  him  and  will  do  so  to  the  last 
ditch,  if  necessary.  He  says  that  America  ought  to  supply 
steel  to  the  world,  and  you  can't  get  him  to  see  that  he 
can  ensure  this  by  selling  his  patent.  He  calls  it  logic 
and,  frankly,  I  like  his  method.  You  have  perhaps  read 
of  that  other  little  fight  which  Playfellow,  Hodges,  and 
Lurgan  are  waging  against  our  printing-machines.  They 
are  now  selling  a  thirty-one  hundred  dollar  machine  for 
three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  but  we  hold  to  our  original 
price  of  five  hundred  dollars  and  we  are  now  making  our 
fourth  thousand.  As  our  machine  cost  only  one  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  to  build,  I  wanted  to  cut  prices,  but 
Worth  said,  '  What's  the  use  ?  We  hold  the  market  and 
they  are  losing  heavily.' 

"  I  am  trying  to  put  Worth  before  you  as  he  is,  not  as 
the  creature  that  Playfellow  and  Hodges  are  trying  to 
make  him  out  in  their  paid  newspaper  crusade.  It  is 
due  to  his  suggestion  that  we  pay  our  workmen  a  royalty 
of  one  hundred  dollars  on  every  machine,  over  and  above 
their  wages.  To  insure  good  work  he  fines  the  shop  one 
thousand  dollars  for  each  defective  machine  sent  out. 
Needless  to  say,  perhaps,  that  every  type-caster  that  leaves 
our  works  is  in  perfect  order,  and  I  may  also  add  that  the 
men  are  the  j oiliest  lot  of  workers  I  have  ever  seen." 

After  the  mill  owners  had  gone,  King  felt  quite  certain 
that  they  would  move  heaven  and  earth  to  free  them 
selves.  There  was  no  such  trouble  as  they  imagined 
about  separation,  for  Playfellow  was  anxious  to  get  the 
Hodges  mill  separated  from  the  others  because,  as  a  large 
owner  and  director  of  many  railroads,  he  thought  he 
could  make  it  a  very  profitable  investment.  Before,  or 
with,  the  final  break  with  Lurgan  and  Steel,  he  wanted  to 


156  The  Mechanic 

do  the  banker  a  serious  and  lasting  injury,  something  that 
would  blast  his  successful  career;  for  he  well  knew  that  he 
could  not  control  all  the  railroads  if  Lurgan  were  still  ac 
tive  in  the  community,  as  the  first  banker  in  America. 

Playfellow  was  a  banker  too,  and  his  bank,  the  Unit 
National,  was  by  all  odds  the  largest  in  the  city,  outside 
of  the  Midland  Bank  which  was  more  or  less  a  private 
concern.  Through  this  institution  Playfellow  had  bought 
into  other  banks,  so  that  through  the  Unit  National  he 
had  a  voice  in  all  financial  matters.  Heretofore  he  had 
depended  mainly  on  Lurgan  for  advice,  as  his  own 
training,  that  of  the  subterranean  passage  and  the  dark 
booths,  hardly  fitted  him  for  a  business  that  must  be 
conducted  in  the  light.  But  now,  with  anger  in  his  heart, 
he  was  eager  to  depose  Lurgan  from  his  high  estate, 
thinking  that  by  so  doing  he  could  forcibly  assume  control 
of  the  money  market.  He  knew  that  Lurgan  was  terribly 
hit  in  Steel,  for  he  himself  was  smarting  under  the  loss  of 
a  lot  of  money  and  also  a  tremendous  holding  of  Common 
and  seven  per  cent  Preferred,  and  his  bonds  would  be 
worthless  as  well  if  the  Steel  Trust  were  not  dissolved,  for 
the  company  now  needed  every  cent  of  its  income  for 
working  capital.  For  the  first  time  in  his  career,  Play 
fellow  was  compelled  to  sell  a  large  amount  of  gilt-edged 
railway  stock  to  make  good  the  losses  that  accrued  while 
fighting  Worth  and  King.  And  because  Lurgan's  daugh 
ter  had  married  the  arch  scoundrel,  he  turned  toward  the 
banker  with  all  the  venom  with  which  nature  had  so 
amply  endowed  him. 

One  Friday  morning,  after  Playfellow  had  wound  up 
the  Steel  Company,  his  lofty  soul  being  in  a  prayerful 
mood,  he  called  for  Thomas  Hodges  and  said,  "  The  Lord 
tells  me  to  punish  that  sinful  man  Lurgan,  and  to  destroy 


Willie  Radley  Assists  157 

his  power  for  future  evil."  And  Hodges  answered  in  a 
rising  voice,  "How  can  we  break  him?"  Playfellow, 
quickly  getting  down  to  business,  exclaimed,  "  He  has 
lost  a  lot  of  money  and  a  great  deal  of  his  prestige  in 
Steel.  If  a  way  could  be  found  to  hurt  his  bank  he  would 
join  the  ranks  of  small  jobbers  and  it's  very  important 
that  he  brings  to  the  light  his  great  holdings  of  railway 
securities  so  that  our  banks  may  get  them." 

"  You  mean  to  make  a  run  on  his  bank  then  ? " 

"Yes,"  hissed  Playfellow. 

"How?" 

"Listen!  To-morrow,  Saturday,  at  eleven,  I  will  call 
in  a  few  of  our  brokers  to  give  them  an  extensive  order 
to  sell  *  Midland.'  Then  you  come  in  very  much  excited 
and,  seeing  the  brokers,  write  me  a  note,  whereat  I  am 
greatly  disturbed.  You  then  murmur  a  few  words,  which 
I  make  them  promise  not  to  repeat.  I  immediately  call 
up  our  cashier  by  telephone  and  tell  him  to  withdraw  at 
once  our  account  with  Lurgan.  You  are  to  see  that  he 
doesn't  quite  understand,  so  that  I  have  to  talk  sharply 
to  him.  After  the  brokers  leave,  and  I'll  keep  them  until 
twelve  o'clock,  I  shall  call  up  the  railroads  that  we  con 
trol,  gas  companies,  and  the  other  banks,  and  I  shall 
speak  to  a  number  of  people  besides,  telling  them  that 
Lurgan  is  shaky  and  advising  them  to  withdraw  their 
funds  from  his  bank  the  first  thing  Monday  morning. 
But  my  hope  is  in  the  brokers,  for  nearly  all  of  them 
bank  with  him  and  their  accounts  are  large,  and  they 
will  withdraw  their  cash  if  we  can  frighten  those  that  see 
me  on  Saturday.  Now  between  Saturday  and  Monday 
morning  we  ought  to  create  a  stampede,  and  as  no  bank 
carries  in  cash  more  than  a  third  of  its  deposits,  we 
ought  to  have  his  shutters  up  by  twelve  o'clock. 


158  The  Mechanic 

"Of  course  we  can't  break  Lurgan  financially,  as  he 
holds  too  many  first-class  securities,  but  we  can  break 
his  heart  and  his  reputation  by  showing  that  he  has  lost 
the  confidence  of  the  people." 

This  little  game  to  tarnish  a  man's  reputation  was  put 
into  effect  and  carried  out  in  profound  secrecy,  and  on 
Monday  morning  there  were  quite  a  number  of  men  at 
the  bank  awaiting  the  opening  of  the  doors.  Lurgan, 
being  down  early,  saw  these,  and  saw  also  the  pushing 
crowd  as  he  entered  the  side  entrance,  and  realized  what 
it  meant. 

But  he  was  now  Lurgan  the  banker  and  he  took  prompt 
measures  to  pay  all  those  that  presented  checks.  His 
cashier  was  ordered  to  pay  only  from  one  window  and 
have  some  one  send  for  a  squad  of  policemen  to  form  a 
line. 

Another  saw  the  crowd,  and  that  was  King  on  his  way 
to  Wall  Street.  Questioning  a  broker  whom  he  knew, 
he  quickly  got  the  story  and  then  telephoned  to  Willie 
Radley,  who  informed  him  that  John  was  just  coming 
into  the  office  at  that  moment.  When  John  had  the 
news  he  telephoned  King  that  he  would  come  at  once, 
and  that  Willie  would  bring  all  the  gold  he  had.  Soon 
John  and  King  were  together  in  the  Overland  Bank, 
where  they  kept  their  large  deposit,  and  by  half  after  ten 
a  truck  load  of  gold  was  on  its  way  to  Lurgan's  bank. 

The  evening  extras  were  all  out  shrieking,  "  A  Run  On 
Lurgan's  Bank!  The  Great  Financier  Is  Shaky,"  and 
this  news,  belched  all  over  the  country,  brought  Catherine 
to  Wall  Street  in  a  great  fright.  But  before  she  reached 
the  bank  the  run  was  turned  into  a  burlesque  by  Willie, 
who,  after  getting  a  receipt  for  his  gold,  said  to  an  assistant 
cashier,  "Pay  only  in  gold  when  you  hear  me  shout 


Willie  Radley  Assists  159 

'bags.'"  Quickly  securing  a  dray,  he  bought  a  wagon- 
load  of  hemp  bags  and,  driving  to  Wall  Street  and  opposite 
the  bank,  began  throwing  East  side  English  at  the  waiting 
multitude.  Then  he  shouted,  "We  only  pay  in  gold! 
Buy  a  bag!" 

While  he  shrieked  thus  at  the  top  of  his  voice  the 
assistant  cashier,  to  whom  he  had  spoken,  went  to  Lurgan 
and  said,  "  Let  us  put  a  sign  out  that  *  We  pay  in  gold 
only.'  That  Overland  lot  and  our  own  will  keep  us  busy 
for  two  days.  You  see  what  a  drug  the  gold  will  be,  as 
not  one  out  of  fifty  can  carry  away  his  account." 

Lurgan  smiled.  "  Good !  but  who  in  the  devil  is  the 
bag  seller?" 

"  That's  Radley,  the  cashier  of  the  Worth  bank.  They 
brought  us  nearly  a  million  in  gold.  You  see,  as  he  has 
the  crowd  in  a  fairly  good  humor,  the  sign  will  do  the 
rest." 

The  bags  were  going  merrily  when  Willie  saw  the 
sign  being  tacked  up,  and  then  he  shouted,  "  Look  — 
look!"  The  crowd  saw  and  began  to  smile,  and  then 
to  waver  in  their  determination  to  withdraw  their  ac 
counts.  Willie's  cry,  "  Get  bags,  you  blokes.  You  can't 
carry  gold  like  a  check,"  sounded  out  over  the  mob. 
Then  a  hansom  pulled  up  and  Willie  cried,  "  How  much 
for  this  blooming  'ansom  ? "  The  crowd  began  to  yell 
and  those  who  did  not  have  bags  began  to  jeer  those 
who  had.  When  the  crowd  began  to  melt,  Willie  yelled, 
"Don't  go;  we  serve  lunch.  Hot  tamales  —  peanuts  — 
soup!  Stay  and  buy  a  bag." 

The  run  on  Lurgan's  bank  had  ended  in  a  farce,  and 
all  because  a  little  man  born  in  Manhattan,  with  the  feel 
of  the  island  in  him,  knew  that  his  countrymen  could  not 
stand  being  laughed  at.  And  when  Willie  was  congrat- 


160  The  Mechanic 

ulated  by  Lurgan,  he  said,  "  Only  an  idea,  I  am  glad  it 
pleased  you!" 

Just  then  Catherine,  entering,  exclaimed,  "  Oh,  father, 
have  they  taken  all  your  money  ?  " 

The  old  man  smiled,  "  Not  yet,  daughter  —  it  will  take 
a  good  deal  more  than  a  run  to  smash  this  shop." 

Then  Catherine,  seeing  who  was  with  her  father,  smiled 
and  held  out  her  hand.  "  How  are  you,  Willie  ?  " 

"Fine,  thank  you." 

"I'll  go  now,  father.  I  was  merely  nervous  at  what 
the  papers  said.  Good-by." 

The  father  allowed  her  to  go  without  offering  his  hand, 
and  Willie,  noticing  this,  said,  "  Let  me  take  you  to  John ; 
he  is  in  Mr.  King's  office."  He  and  Catherine  walked 
out,  leaving  the  crusty  old  man  alone.  That  afternoon 
Lurgan  called  at  the  Overland  to  thank  them  for  their 
assistance  and  said,  "As  you  and  a  little  East  side  bank 
were  the  only  ones  that  came  to  my  aid,  I  want  to  thank 
you." 

"  I'm  afraid,"  answered  the  president  of  the  Overland, 
"  that  thanks  are  not  due  us.  It  was  Worth's  and  King's 
deposit  that  we  sent  to  you,  and,  of  course,  by  their  direct 
orders." 

Lurgan  returned  to  his  bank  greatly  troubled,  and 
after  a  few  minutes  he  called  on  King.  The  first  words 
he  heard  as  he  entered  were,  "  You  are  just  a  plain  skunk 
to  send  Catherine  crying  away  from  you  this  morning,"  and 
going  to  his  ticker,  he  repeated,  "just  a  plain  skunk." 

That  night  Lurgan  found  his  large  house  very  lonely 
and  disquieting,  but  he  would  not  admit  that  he  was  in 
the  wrong  nor  would  he  even  write  John  a  letter  of  thanks. 
But  he  beamed  on  Willie  Radley  and  gave  to  that  youngster 
much  good  advice  and  a  great  deal  of  his  regard. 


Willie  Radley  Assists  161 

And  when  Willie,  with  his  large,  engaging  smile,  said 
one  day,  "I  want  to  buy  the  old  Worth  site  in  Center 
Street,  with  the  two  adjoining  lots,  so  if  you  should  now 
call  up  the  Insurance  Company  that  owns  the  property, 
and  tell  them  to  get  busy,  I'll  take  you  to  my  heart." 
The  banker  lay  back  in  his  chair  and  laughingly  cried, 
"Sure  of  that,  Willie?  But  may  I  call  you  Willie?" 

The  young  man,  pulling  out  a  book  and  writing  some 
thing  in  it,  said,  "  Outside  of  my  people,  you  are  the  fifth." 

"Fifth?"  and  Lurgan  looked  a  question. 

Then  Radley  showed  him  the  page  on  which  was 
written,  "  Those  that  have  permission  to  call  me  Willie," 
and  the  banker,  looking  at  him,  laughed  again  and  ex 
claimed,  "  If  the  property  is  to  be  transferred  to  you,  I'll 
telephone." 

" That's  it,  but  I  will—  " 

"Oh,  I  don't  care  what  you  do  with  it,"  interrupted 
Lurgan.  "Willie!" 

"Yes,  Governor?" 

"You  saved  me  from  a  nasty  hole  and  I'm  grateful 
to  you.  To  you  personally,  mind.  And  if  at  any  time 
I  can  be  of  use,"  and  Lurgan  accented  these  words, 
"call  on  me.  Now,  boy,  it  was  Playfellow  who  did  that 
dirty  trick  and  he  has  got  to  pay  for  it." 

"You  are  stronger  than  ever." 

"Yes,  thanks  to  that  little  red  head  of  yours,  which 
turned  a  serious  run  into  a  joke." 

A  few  weeks  later  there  was  a  sharp,  quick  fight  over 
the  election  of  directors  in  the  Insurance  Company  that 
had  turned  John  Worth  into  the  street,  and  the  financial 
world  was  startled  to  find  that  the  great  Lurgan  now  had 
the  laugh  on  Playfellow  and  Hodges.  They  had  both 
been  voted  out  of  the  directorate  and  there  was  conse- 


162  The  Mechanic 

quently  a  new  grouping  of  cliques  in  Wall  Street.  All 
were  looking  for  the  big  battle  that  would  surely  follow 
Lurgan's  smashing  retort  to  the  run  on  his  bank,  and 
the  men  who  took  bonds  and  other  securities  to  the 
Insurance  Company  to  exchange  them  for  cash  wondered 
who  William  Radley  was,  for  they  saw  his  name  on  the 
finance  committee.  Willie  did  not  know  of  this  honor 
until  he  received  a  note  from  Lurgan  explaining  matters. 

Then  he  went  to  see  King,  who  said,  "  Yes,  that's  like 
him,  and  he  is  not  quite  all  skunk."  But  Willie  could 
not  follow  this,  and  as  King  was  evidently  not  inclined  to 
say  more,  he  went  over  to  thank  Lurgan,  who  said  to 
him,  "  I'll  help  you  until  you  get  to  know  the  ropes,  and 
in  return  I  want  to  know  all  deals  that  come  to  the  Insur 
ance  Company.  There  is  going  to  be  a  fight  and  I  am 
out  not  only  to  save  this  house  which  I  inherited,  but  to 
make  it  larger,  and  now  that  Worth  has  knocked  Steel 
into  hell  I  am  through  with  direct  control  of  industrial 
combinations." 

"  And  how  will  my  position  affect  you  and  John  ?  " 

"Oh,  he  has  his  Steel  now.  The  combine  is  over,  so 
I  don't  see  where  we  shall  clash,  but  I  must  tell  you  that 
if  I  ever  get  a  chance  to  hurt  him,  I  will  do  so." 

"And  I  will  do  all  I  can,  every  waking  hour,  and  all 
the  way  to  the  poorhouse,  to  help  him,"  protested  Willie. 

"That's  right,  boy,  that's  right,"  said  the  old  man, 
peevishly.  "Stick  to  your  friends;  but  he  isn't  a  friend 
of  mine,  and  at  any  rate  he  is  not  in  the  active  market, 
so  why  bother  about  him?" 

About  six  months  later  Willie  had  occasion  to  call  on 
Lurgan  and  say,  "I  hear  that  the  Hodges  people  are 
depending  on  the  railroads  to  keep  their  mill  busy.  I 
also  hear  of  rebates." 


Willie  Radley  Assists  163 

"Sure  of  that  last,  Willie?" 

"Yes,  Governor." 

"Tell  me,  how  is  the  fight  going?" 

And  Willie,  without  mentioning  John's  name,  said, 
"All  the  Independents  have  adopted  the  same  scale  of 
prices  for  the  year,  and  I  am  informed  that  the  Hodges 
mill  is  losing  fifty  thousand  a  week." 

"  Good !  and  he  won't  quit, "  chuckled  the  banker. 

Willie  smiled  at  the  "  he,"  but  like  a  wise  boy  said  noth 
ing.  When  he  was  going,  the  banker  said,  "  Come  and 
see  me  again  soon,  and  how  are  things  with  your  bank  ?  " 

"  Since  we  got  into  our  new  building,  as  jolly  as  possible ! 
We  have  stacks  now,  could  stop  a  run  without  the  use  of 
bags  ";  and  Lurgan  laughed  heartily. 

Meanwhile  John  was  directing  all  his  energies  toward 
Hodges.  He  had  him  in  a  corner  and  was  pounding  him 
systematically.  Knowing  that  the  Hodges  mill  turned 
out  a  very  crude  metal  as  compared  with  his  own  or  that 
of  the  Independents,  John  circularized  all  steel  buyers 
regarding  the  kind  of  contract  that  they  ought  to  make 
when  purchasing  steel,  and  it  was  these  letters  to  archi 
tects  and  others  that  made  it  difficult  for  Hodges  and 
Playfellow  to  get  contracts  beyond  their  sphere  of  personal 
influence. 

It  was  through  armor  plates  that  they  were  brought  to 
their  knees.  The  Government  asked  for  bids  covering  a 
number  of  vessels,  and  the  specifications  read,  "pure 
fibrous  steel,"  not  only  for  the  vessels  building  in  their 
own  yards,  but  in  those  contracted  for  elsewhere.  As 
the  Hodges  mill  had  made  all  armor  plates  while  they 
had  the  Worth  process,  they  now  tried  to  get  the  con 
tracts  and,  having  a  spy  in  John's  steel  mill  office,  they 
knew  his  figures,  so  they  bid  slightly  lower  and  secured 


164  The  Mechanic 

the  contract.  Then  they  made  a  great  shout,  and  John, 
thinking  that  he  now  had  them,  called  upon  the  President. 

"  To  kill  off  all  possible  competition,  the  old  trust  made 
the  present  hard  and  fast  specifications,"  he  explained, 
"thus  enabling  the  Hodges  mill,  which  at  that  time  was 
alone  in  using  my  process,  to  have  a  monopoly  of  making 
armor  for  the  Government.  Now  this  same  mill  has  to 
make  the  plates  for  the  new  contract  by  the  old  process 
and  of  course  it  can't  make  them  according  to  the  speci 
fications;  but  they  hope  to  get  their  faulty  plates  passed, 
owing  to  the  strength  of  their  political  pull." 

"I  shall  have  something  to  say  just  about  that  time," 
the  President  answered. 

"That's  what  I  thought;  and  now,  Mr.  President,  I 
have  a  word  to  say.  I  am  out,  as  you  are  aware,  to  hurt 
Hodges  and  Playfellow.  I  work  directly  at  them,  while 
you  are  bothered  with  a  constitution,  which  was  made 
before  these  brands  of  bloodsuckers  were  known,  but  I 
am  also  talking  straight  business  with  a  straight  issue. 
Now  I  want  all  of  your  assistance,  and  if  you  give  it  to 
me,  I  promise  a  happy  day  for  both  of  us.  I  am  working 
on  personal  grounds  and  you  are  working  for  the  country, 
so  I  say  make  them  deliver  the  steel  called  for  in  the 
specifications.  Don't  let  them  off,  but  keep  their  noses 
to  this  grindstone;  I  will  hold  in  readiness  enough  steel  to 
cover  those  vessels  in  case  a  war  should  threaten  or  other 
urgent  need  arise. 

"  The  larger  line  of  publicity  which  Tyndale  gave  them 
is  not  dead  and  Congress  would  give  them  short  notice. 
But  I  don't  want  Congress  to  meddle  with  this,  as  a  loss 
of  two  or  three  millions  would  not  bother  them  after  the 
disclosure  that  they  could  not  fill  their  contract.  A 
threat  from  you  with  a  time  limit  will  send  them  to  one 


Willie  Radley  Assists  165 

of  the  independent  mill  owners,  and  then  they  pay  —  they 
pay  through  their  blood,  for  money  is  their  blood." 

"Worth,  you  hate  them?" 

"I  do,  Mr.  President." 

"  And  so  do  I,  as  they  are  a  terrible  curse  to  the  country. 
They  stifle  hope  and  breed  socialism;  but  when  you  have 
killed  their  steel  mill  as  you  have  their  printing  business, 
they  still  have  their  Port  Arthur  —  Oil." 

"And  I  am  the  solitary  Jap,  eh?" 

The  President  smiled,  and  said,  "Tell  me,  Worth, 
about  the  printing-machines.  That  was  a  quick  collapse, 
wasn't  it  ?  " 

"Yes,"  answered  John,  thoughtfully.  "It  was  Lurgan 
who  wound  the  business  up  by  asking  for  a  receiver. 
And  I  can't  understand  his  action  as  other  than  a  desire 
to  hurt  Playfellow." 

"  He  must  have  lost  a  pile  over  Steel  ? "  suggested  the 
President. 

"  He  did,  but  Hodges  was  hurt  most,  for  he  was  drawing 
interest  on  two  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  invested 
capital  as  represented  by  his  mill  and  his  ore  lands, 
vessels,  and  coke  furnaces.  In  reality  his  outfit  is  not 
worth  two  dollars  as  an  investment  to-day,  and  in  less 
than  a  year  his  property  will  be  sold  at  auction." 

"You  fight  hard  and  without  mercy,  Worth." 

And  John  smiled  grimly  and  said,  "  That's  it,  without 
mercy." 

In  six  months  there  was  a  bill  of  sale  out  against  the 
Hodges  mill.  It  cost  them  many  millions  to  procure 
armor  plates  of  pure  fibrous  steel,  and  after  Playfellow 
had  made  his  contract  good,  he  said  to  Hodges,  "  I  wish 
we  had  that  devil  in  Oil,  so  we  could  take  his  heart's 
blood."  Playfellow  was  sore,  for  the  Lurgan  clique  in 


166  The  Mechanic 

Wall  Street  was  active,  and  when  he  had  footed  up  his 
losses  in  the  last  few  years  he  fell  upon  his  knees  and 
prayed  to  God  to  deliver  over  to  him  the  unrighteous 
Worth. 

The  day  the  papers  in  flaring  headlines  said,  "Worth 
Has  Smashed  Playfellow  and  Hodges'  Steel  Mill,"  Willie 
called  upon  Lurgan,  who,  after  a  moment's  talk,  bending 
over  his  desk  said,  "  How  are  things  ?  "  Radley,  smiling, 
knew  what  the  old  man  wanted  to  hear,  and  when  he  had 
finished  the  story  from  John's  point  of  view,  the  banker 
exclaimed,  "He  doesn't  know  how  to  quit."  Willie, 
knowing  that  if  he  mentioned  John's  name,  the  old  man 
would  explode,  said  merely,  "That's  so."  But  Willie 
had  still  another  announcement  to  make,  and  the  shrewd 
old  banker,  noting  the  repressed  air  of  elation  and  happi 
ness,  and  thinking  it  concerned  some  personal  matter, 
said,  "Well,  my  boy,  out  with  it!" 

"It's  the  finest  boy  I  ever  saw;  a  regular  bouncer." 

"What?"  gasped  Lurgan,  trying  in  vain  to  restrain 
himself.  "  What  boy  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  Why,  John's  baby,  of  course.  You  ought  to  see  it  — 
and  say,  the  mother  and  John  are  crazy  over  it." 

Lurgan's  face  showed  plainly  the  emotions  contending 
within,  and  Willie  rattled  on,  "I  dine  with  them  on 
Sundays  and  I  have  noticed  that  Mrs.  Worth  always 
keeps  a  vacant  chair  beside  her.  I  thought  at  first  that 
it  was  for  some  guest  who  had  failed  to  appear,  but  that 
can't  be,  as  there  it  is  every  Sunday  and  always  vacant." 

Looking  at  the  old  man,  Willie  saw  his  head  fall  for 
ward  and  his  shoulders  heave.  As  he  went  out  the 
leonine  head  was  bowed  in  grief,  so  Willie  said  to  the 
secretary,  "Mr.  Lurgan  does  not  want  to  be  disturbed 
until  he  rings." 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE    RECONCILIATION 

"  OH,  father,  it's  so  good  to  see  you." 

And  Lurgan,  embracing  Catherine,  said  in  a  husky 
voice,  "It's  good  to  have  you  in  my  arms,  my  child. 
The  last  two  years  have  been  lonely  and  the  old  house  is 
gray  without  you." 

But  there  was  another  watching  this  scene  of  love, 
who,  judging  from  his  blinking  eyes,  did  not  approve  it, 
and  that  was  baby  Jo,  reposing  in  his  pillows,  and  gazing 
upon  the  man  who  held  his  mother.  Lurgan  looked 
down  with  loving  eyes,  picked  the  little  fellow  up,  and 
holding  him  to  his  heart  said,  "  I  am  your  grandpa,  and 
you  are  Jo." 

Crushing  the  child  to  him  again,  the  grandfather 
promised  him  toys,  cars,  engines,  and  rocking-horses, 
hoping  to  avert  the  impending  tears.  It  was  hardly  to 
be  expected  that  a  baby  a  few  weeks  old  could  be  won  by 
such  material  means,  but  when  he  was  safe  back  in  his 
mother's  arms  he  smiled  back  at  the  old  man,  and  Lurgan 
knew  the  battle  was  won. 

For  an  hour  he  was  a  child  himself,  for  Catherine  had 
left  them  together,  sure  that  little  Jo  would  completely 
win  her  father's  love.  And  when  she  joined  them  again, 
her  father  was  sitting  on  the  floor  trying  to  amuse  the 
child. 

"Dinner  will  be  ready  in  half  an  hour,  father.  I 

167 


168  The  Mechanic 

telephoned  your  man  to  bring  your  things,  for  of  course 
you  are  going  to  stay  all  night." 

Lurgan,  having  dressed  quickly,  rapped  at  Catherine's 
door,  and  being  told  to  enter,  sat  down  in  a  chair  and 
asked  if  she  expected  any  one  to  dinner. 

"  Only  Mr.  King,  Polly,  and  her  brother,  and,  of  course, 
Willie  who  dines  with  us  every  Sunday.  They  thought 
I  would  be  lonely  without  John  and  planned  to  come." 

"Hem,"  and  the  old  man  grunted.  "I  hear  that 
Percy  comes  here  quite  often,  and  I  have  a  distinct  recol 
lection  of  sending  him  about  his  business  when  he  was 
good  enough  to  call  one  day  and  ask  if  he  might  marry 
you." 

"  Oh,  he  has  got  all  over  that,  father,"  smiled  Catherine. 

"  And  the  others,  have  they  got  all  over  it,  too  ?  Now 
look  here,  Catherine,  all  this  tomfoolery  has  got  to  stop; 
I  gather  from  the  papers  that  you  are  an  acknowledged 
social  leader  and  I  can  see  that  every  moment  of  your  time 
is  occupied.  I  also  see  that  a  half  dozen  of  young  men 
are  in  constant  attendance  to  see  that  you  have  a  good 
time."  And  then  he  quickly  asked,  "When  does  your 
husband  return  ?  " 

"In  ten  days." 

"  Good !  Then  you  will  pack  up  to-morrow  and  come  to 
your  old  home  for  a  visit.  We  will  give  a  big  reception 
and  dinner  for  his  return  and  then  these  young  men  and 
others  will  see  what  they  will  see  —  ugh,"  and  the  old 
man  grunted  again.  "I  have  a  darned  good  mind  to 
give  you  a  scolding,  Catherine." 

The  girl,  for  she  was  a  girl  now  in  her  feelings,  went  up 
to  her  father  and  putting  her  arms  around  his  neck  cried, 
"Father,  it's  lovely  to  be  bossed;  so  scold  some  more." 

"Does  nobody  boss  you  now?" 


The  Reconciliation  169 

"No,  father,  I  was  hurled  from  a  state  of  dependency 
into  utter  independence." 

"All  that's  finished  now,  as  from  to-day  I'm  your 
father  again.  You  know  what  that  means." 

And  Catherine,  nestling  close  to  him,  said,  with  a 
merry  look  in  her  face,  "The  Duke  of  Lockover  is  here 
again;  he  called  yesterday  and  I  could  see  that  he  still 
likes  me  a  tiny  bit.  You  will,  I  know,  be  glad  to  see  him 
again." 

"  Oh,  he  is  an  ass,  with  not  so  much  brains  as  a  canary. 
I  hope  you  didn't  ask  him  to  anything  —  dinners  and 
such?" 

"  Why  no,  father,  as  John  is  away  I  must  take  care  of 
the  proprieties;  but  as  soon  as  he  returns  I'll  have  Title 
call." 

"  No,  child,  I  tell  you  all  that  gadflying  is  over.  You 
have  had  two  full  years  of  it;  it's  ageing  and  at  any  rate 
it's  foolish  —  and  I  won't  stand  it;  that's  flat." 

The  girl,  nestling  closer  to  her  father,  exclaimed,  "  It's 
heavenly  to  be  bossed,"  and  the  old  man,  wholly  mollified 
now,  said,  "The  boy  is  immense.  I  never  saw  a  finer 
fellow.  I  must  kiss  you  on  the  quiet  now,  for  he  seemed 
to  resent  our  demonstrations  this  noon.  What  happens 
when  Mr.  Worth  is  at  home?" 

"Say,  'John,'  father";  and  with  this  request  his  cheek 
was  patted  just  as  she  used  to  pat  it.  The  old  man  in  a 
moment  asked  another  question  and  used  Worth's  first 
name,  and  then  Catherine  kissed  him  and  said,  "  I  have 
never  forgotten  for  a  moment,  father,  that  he  is  my 
husband." 

And  the  old  man  drew  her  closer,  saying,  "  Of  course 
you  haven't;  and,  daughter  —  there  is  one  thing  bothers 
me.  I  had  nothing  to  do  with  his  uncle's  death.  I 


170  The  Mechanic 

fought  him  hard  —  too  hard  perhaps,  and  for  that  I'm 
sorry." 

"His  uncle's  death?     What  do  you  mean,  father!" 

Lurgan  realized  that  Catherine  did  not  know  that 
story,  so  he  told  her  and  added,  "Odd  his  not  telling 
you  that,  as  he  could  have  given  me  a  black  eye  by  doing 
so.  For  I  was  in  with  them  then  and  he  had  every 
right  to  think  that  I  was  also  in  that  distressing  affair." 

"Oh,  father,  he  says  so  very  little  about  the  dark 
things  of  life.  When  I  told  him  of  a  threat  I  overheard, 
he  asked  me  a  few  questions,  and  I  see  now  he  had  in 
mind  his  uncle's  death.  And  I'm  sure  that  he  now 
knows  that  you  weren't  implicated  in  that,  but  how 
terrible  to  assassinate  an  old,  old  man!  Oh,  but  come, 
father,"  drying  her  eyes,  "  we  must  go  downstairs  as  we 
are  late."  On  the  way  she  stopped  her  father  to  say, 
"Watch  Willie  and  Polly." 

Remembering  an  epithet  which  had  rankled  in  his 
soul  for  a  year  and  a  half,  when  Lurgan  saw  King  he  said, 
"  I  am  not  altogether  a  skunk,  eh  ?  " 

King,  smiling  pleasantly,  answered,  "You  are  all  right 
now." 

Lurgan  talked  to  Polly,  Percy,  and  Willie  quite  amiably, 
for  he  was  in  great  good  humor.  At  dinner  he  kept  his 
eyes  on  the  two  whom  Catherine  had  mentioned,  and 
once  he  saw  them  glaring  at  each  other.  But  he  was 
wise  in  the  ways  of  youth  and  he  thought  he  saw  the 
trouble  that  existed. 

When  Catherine  and  Polly  had  gone  into  the  drawing- 
room,  he  said  to  Willie,  "Seems  cool  this  evening." 

Willie,  understanding  the  allusion,  blushed  and  said, 
"Yes,  very  frosty,"  whereupon  King  and  Percy,  who 
knew  Willie's  malady,  laughed. 


The  Reconciliation  171 

After  a  time  the  young  men  joined  the  ladies  and  left 
the  two  old  financiers  together.  Lurgan  said,  "I  hear 
that  Playfellow  closes  control  of  the  Overland  Bank 
to-morrow,"  and  then  as  if  that  item  of  news  were  of  no 
value,  he  continued,  "I  see  that  the  seamless  coat  of 
steel  for  war-ships  was  very  successful  and  that  you  are 
arranging  for  foreign  business.  You  must  be  making 
big  money." 

King  answered  slowly  and  musically,  "Yes,  making  it 
in  huge  lumps  now.  The  manufacturing  business  is  very 
interesting.  Going  to  buy  copper  soon." 

"Copper?"  repeated  Lurgan. 

"Yes,  a  big,  undeveloped  property  came  to  me  a  year 
ago  and  John  is  taking  a  look  at  it  now.  If  it  is  anything 
like  as  good  as  represented,  we  shall  buy  it." 

"  Say,  King,  why  don't  you  bond  your  steel  property  ?  " 

"  What's  the  use  ?  Playfellow  has  paid  for  it  five  times 
over."  At  this  statement  King  permitted  himself  to  smile 
largely  —  "And,  again,  I  think  Worth  objects  to  companies. 
At  any  rate,  we  are  indebted  to  you  for  keeping  the  rail 
roads  straight  when  we  were  fighting  Playfellow.  And 
Worth,  I  know,  is  delighted  with  the  way  you  have  pushed 
Willie  forward.  He  is  in  all  your  companies,  isn't  he?" 

"  Yes,  I  like  him,  and  he  is  the  cleverest  man  on  finance 
I  have  ever  met.  But  what  about  my  son-in-law?"  and 
Lurgan' s  face  took  on  a  deeper  tinge  as  he  admitted  the 
relationship.  "Can't  I  do  something  for  him  in  these 
large  concerns  ?  " 

"I  think  not.  Just  push  Willie  forward;  by  the  way, 
he  will  see  you  to-morrow  morning  with  an  idea.  Ah! 
there  is  the  music,"  and  both  relinquished  business  for 
the  delights  of  the  violin  as  played  by  Catherine  and 
accompanied  by  Polly  on  the  piano. 


172  The  Mechanic 

Polly's  sweet  face,  framed  in  her  blonde  hair,  was  a 
foil  to  Catherine's  wondrous  dark  beauty.  And  the  one 
most  deeply  stirred  by  the  black,  humid  eyes,  the  perfect 
figure,  and  the  color  which  came,  lingered,  and  then 
slowly  departed  only  to  come  again,  was  Lurgan,  her 
father.  To-night  he  saw  for  the  first  time  with  reasoning, 
thinking  brain,  the  wonderful  creature  that  was  his 
daughter.  Sinking  back  into  his  chair  like  a  huge  gorilla, 
he  grasped  clearly  why  men  became  insane  for  love,  and 
he  also  understood  why  a  man  like  Worth  could  claim, 
as  of  right,  a  woman  so  full  of  heroic  charm.  And  now 
a  thought  was  shaping  which  made  him  fear.  Did  she 
know  that  Worth  did  not  love  her  ?  Did  she  realize  why 
John  had  married  her?  He  felt  that  his  daughter  was  a 
very  proud  woman,  and  was  now  perhaps  hiding  a  sore 
heart.  But  the  father  could  not  answer  his  own  questions ; 
he  felt  sure  only  that  he  idolized  her  and  that  he  was 
going  to  look  after  her  as  of  old. 

The  following  morning  Catherine  said  to  him,  "I  will 
go  with  you  until  John  returns,  and  then  I  must  come 
back  here." 

The  old  man  said  with  a  snarl,  "  Can't  we  both  live  in 
the  same  house  ?  " 

"Why,  of  course,  father,  so  we  will  arrange  it  this  way; 
I  will  go  to  you  for  ten  days,  and  then  you  can  come 
and  pay  us  a  visit.  I  am  trying,  as  you  see,  to  harmonize 
things;  if  all  goes  well  we  will  spend  the  summer  with 
you  in  the  country.  How  is  that  ?  " 

And  the  banker,  looking  at  his  daughter  in  admiration, 
said,  "All  right.  Now  send  Jo  with  his  nurse  to  me, 
and  I'll  take  them  for  a  drive  in  the  Park,  before  I  go 
down  town." 

"Father?" 


The  Reconciliation  173 

"Yes,  dear?" 

"I  made  John  a  promise  that  Jo  was  never  to  go  out 
without  Tony,  so  don't  mind  the  dark  little  fellow  that 
will  be  always  near  his  nurse." 

"  Tony  ?  Tony  ?  "  repeated  the  old  man,  quietly,  "  Who 
is  he?" 

"  I  don't  know,  father,  other  than  that  he  is  very  oblig 
ing,  and  apparently  exceedingly  harmless.  He  looks 
after  the  automobiles." 

"And  must  he  accompany  you  too?" 

"Yes,  father,  always." 

"It's  very  strange,  and  somehow  doesn't  sound  like 
Worth.  I  shouldn't  have  imagined  it." 

"Oh,  father,  you  are  utterly  wrong,  if  you  think  he  is 
watching  me  in  that  sense.  Until  last  night,  I  merely 
put  Tony  down  as  a  hobby  of  some  sort,  but  in  thinking 
over  Uncle  David's  untimely  end,  I  think  I  see  Tony's 
usefulness." 

Lurgan  bowed  his  head;  he,  too,  understood.  Before 
they  started  he  said  to  Tony,  "  Do  you  know  who  I  am  ?  " 

"Mrs.  Worth's  father." 

"Why  do  you  watch?" 

"Ask  the  Master,  Tyndale,  or  Radley." 

Lurgan  said  no  more,  but  several  times  that  morning 
he  saw  the  patient  trailer  always  moving  like  a  shadow, 
always  near  little  Jo. 

After  the  banker  had  looked  at  his  mail,  remembering 
what  King  said  about  a  call  from  Willie,  he  rang  that 
young  man  up  on  the  telephone  and  said,  "  Little  Jo  and 
I  are  coming  around  to  see  you."  Shortly  Lurgan  was  in 
the  John  Worth  Bank  and  he  was  taken  to  the  board  room 
where  he  found  Willie,  who  said,  "  Sit  down  for  a  moment, 
until  I  get  through  with  the  meeting  of  the  directors." 


174  The  Mechanic 

"  Then  I  had  better  go  ?  "  said  Lurgan. 

"Oh,  don't  move.  My  directors  never  come,  but  I 
hold  the  meeting  just  the  same.  You  see  I  regularly 
send  a  notice  to  Mr.  King  and  John,  and  they  as  regularly 
don't  pay  any  attention  to  it.  Mr.  King  thinks  it  a  bore, 
I  suppose,  and  as  John's  office  is  over  this  bank  I  pre 
sume  he  doesn't  think  it  worth  while  to  detach  himself 
from  his  other  duties.  So  I  hold  the  meeting  alone. 
As  a  banker  you  see  the  advantages  I  labor  under,  as 
there  is  no  one  to  find  fault  or  criticise. 

"About  a  year  ago  I  planted  small  receiving  and 
paying  banks  in  other  sections  and,  like  this  institution, 
they  are  open  at  night,  and  you  have  no  idea  how  well 
these  sprouts  have  turned  out.  Quite  a  large  amount  of 
money  is  gathered  from  them  every  day.  I  called  this 
meeting  of  the  directors  to  lay  my  plans  before  them, 
and  I  worked  up  a  fine  speech,  but  no  one  appeared  so 
I  made  my  speech  anyway,  and  then  took  a  vote  and  it 
was  decided  that  I  go  ahead  and  establish  branches. 
I  tell  you,  Governor,  that  I  have  a  cinch." 

"  Say,  Willie,  what  interest  have  you  in  the  bank  ?  " 

"One  fifth." 

Lurgan  looked  disappointed,  and  then  Willie  added, 
"  The  bank  owns  the  steel  mills  and  the  printing  works." 

"And  you  own  a  fifth  of  these?" 

"It  looks  like  it.  At  any  rate  I  have  to  manage  all 
their  financial  deals  and  I  am,  as  well,  responsible  for 
the  working  of  the  mills." 

Lurgan  looked  more  pleased  and  said,  "And  as  to  the 
money  you  make  personally  ?  " 

"All  goes  to  the  bank." 

"And  no  meetings  are  held  between  you,  King,  and 
Worth?" 


The  Reconciliation  175 

"  Never  held  one  yet,  Governor.  If,  for  instance,  John 
buys  that  big  copper  property,  he  will  telegraph  King, 
who  will  hold  one  meeting  with  the  owners,  and  when  the 
price  is  arranged  he  will  send  them  to  me.  And  neither 
he  nor  John  will  ever  ask  another  question.  Harold 
Tyndale,  our  lawyer,  has  offices  in  this  building,  too,  so 
that  it's  all  here  under  this  roof." 

At  this  point  the  telephone  rang,  and  Willie,  excusing 
himself,  put  his  ear  to  the  receiver  and  Lurgan  heard, 
"Good  morning,  Mr.  King."  Then  Willie  was  told  to 
move  every  cent  out  of  the  Overland  Bank  and  deposit  it  in 
Lurgan's  bank,  to  which  he  answered,  "With  pleasure." 
Hanging  up  the  receiver,  he  told  the  banker  the  news.' 

His  eyes  showing  his  pleasure,  Lurgan  said,  "I  have 
always  wanted  his  account  and  he  doesn't  take  long  to 
work  on  a  hint."  After  a  moment  he  asked,  "Do  you 
handle  his  cash  as  well  ?  " 

"Only  half  is  his." 

And  now  Lurgan  whistled  and  said,  "  They  are  together, 
then,  on  the  Street." 

Willie  replied,  "That  has  been  the  arrangement  ever 
since  John  won  the  steel  suit,  and  to-day  you  get  the 
largest  liquid  account  that  I  ever  heard  of  and  every 
dollar  of  it  is  good  clean  money." 

"King  told  me  last  night  that  you  had  something  to 
say  to  me,  but  before  we  get  to  business  I  should  like  to 
ask  if  you  are  related  to  Edward  Radley  who  once  owned 
a  small  bank  in  Radley,  Ohio  ?  I  knew  him  when  I  was 
a  young  man,  and  years  ago,  when  he  visited  New  York, 
I  used  to  entertain  him  at  my  home." 

Willie  said  mournfully,  the  laughter  all  gone  from  his 
face,  "He  was  my  father."  After  a  moment  he  went  on. 
"He  owned  considerable  land.  Oil  was  found  and, 


176  The  Mechanic 

honest  soul,  he  thought  that  he  could  operate  his  own. 
But  why  tell  an  old  story,  as  Playfellow  blacklisted  him, 
and  five  years  later  he  was  driving  horses  on  the  East 
side  —  always  kind,  always  cheerful.  He  worked  hard 
that  his  children  might  get  some  education.  He  died  a 
few  years  ago,  or  just  after  I  got  into  the  savings  bank." 

Lurgan  said  nothing  as  his  heart  was  touched  with  the 
tragic  story. 

Then  Willie,  to  change  the  conversation,  said,  "On 
bag  day,  to  make  a  panic,  Playfellow  threw  into  the 
market  all  of  his  holdings  in  your  Midland  railroad. 
And  as  you  know,  he  broke  the  market  price  of  this  stock 
thirty  points,  as  for  an  hour  the  stock  exchange  went 
crazy.  Of  course,  Playfellow  thought  that  it  would  be 
easy  to  work  the  old  scheme  and  get  this  stock  back  next 
day,  but  this  time  the  game  didn't  pan  out  as  he  antici 
pated  because  King  bought  every  share  that  he  could 
get  his  hands  on,  and  to-day  this  bank  holds  every  share 
that  Playfellow  threw  on  the  street  at  that  time  and  he 
has  had  to  pay  fancy  prices  to  secure  another  lot  of 
Midland  stock.  Through  Mrs.  Worth,  I  recently  met 
the  Bleeckers,  Cullimores,  and  Mannerings,  and  last 
week  I  saw  them,  and  they  are  quite  willing  to  give  you 
voting  control  of  their  holdings  for  the  coming  election  of 
officers  and  directors.  To  each  and  every  one  I  explained 
carefully  that  we  wanted  to  throw  Playfellow  and  Hodges 
out  of  the  directorate;  so  there's  the  story,  and  what  do 
you  think  of  it?" 

"I  like  it,  Willie;  but  who  suggested  that  I  was  the 
man  to  handle  this  matter?" 

"  Why,  Governor,  you  are  the  man,  because  you  have 
run  this  road  for  years,  and  nice  clean  people  are  getting 
very  sick  of  Playfellow." 


The  Reconciliation  177 

"Answer  my  question,  Willie." 

"  I  got  it  from  Mr.  King,  Governor." 

"  I  have  learnt  this  morning  that  you,  King,  and  Worth 
work  as  a  unit  in  all  things.  Who  is  the  head,  Willie?" 

"John  Worth,  Governor,"  and  Willie's  eyes  glistened 
as  he  spoke  his  friend's  name. 

"What  is  he  after?" 

"Playfellow  and  Hodges." 

"He  is  not  through  with  them,  then?"  and  the  old 
man  looked  astonished,  for  he  thought  Worth's  work  was 
confined  to  Steel  and  other  such  commodities.  He  had 
never  pictured  John  as  manipulating  railroads  so  as  to 
hurt  Playfellow.  But  here  Worth  was  on  the  Street 
through  King,  in  the  financial  world  through  the  growing 
power  of  William  Radley,  and  evidently  wanting  the 
Lurgan  bank,  too,  and  its  owner.  It  was  very  evident, 
from  what  Radley  had  just  said,  that  Catherine  had  been 
able  to  enlist  the  help  of  the  old  families  who  really 
owned  the  Midland  railroad. 

The  old  man  musingly  said,  "I  sized  him  up  wrong 
from  the  start,  or  rather  I  didn't  know  him";  then  he 
caught  sight,  through  the  window,  of  little  Jo  cooing  in 
the  arms  of  his  nurse  as  she  sat  in  the  carriage  outside, 
and  he  said,  "  Tell  me  the  Tony  story." 

"  John  has  Tony  to  look  after  Mrs.  Worth  and  the  little 
one.  You  see  he  lost  a  father  and  an  uncle  and  he  is 
careful  because  he  knows  the  kind  of  people  he  is  fighting. 
But  Tony  is  not  the  only  one,"  and  Willie,  speaking  in  a 
hushed  voice,  said,  "every  servant  in  his  house  and  all 
the  men  about  his  place  know  that  they  are  answerable 
for  the  safety  of  Mrs.  Worth  and  the  child.  All  his 
people  have  been  recruited  from  the  East  side  —  hard 
workers,  neat  and  alive,  very  much  alive  to  possibilities. 


178  The  Mechanic 

"In  other  words,  there  is  no  pity  in  our  fight.  They 
don't  know  the  meaning  of  that  word,  nor  does  Tony, 
and  he  is  attached  to  John  as  a  dog  is  attached  to  its 
master.  And  this  same  black-eyed,  wiry  little  fellow  has 
built  up  with  Harold  Tyndale  a  secret  service  that  is 
perfect,  because  it's  purely  of  New  York." 

And  Lurgan,  as  he  listened,  marveled.  Yet  he  could 
say  nothing  against  this  desperate  care  of  a  man  for  his 
wife  and  child,  but  he  wondered  at  it,  because  as  John 
Worth  did  not  love  his  wife,  why  this  trouble  to  hedge 
her  about? 

Willie  broke  into  his  thoughts  by  saying,  "  John  takes 
care  of  his  own,  Governor." 

And  Lurgan  concluded,  "That's  it,  'his  own.'"  And 
getting  up  he  said,  "  I'll  handle  the  railroad  deal  and  will 
lay  other  wires  at  once,  and  it  will  be  a  great  joy  to  throw 
Playfellow  down  hard.  But  tell  me,  how  did  you  get 
around  Neil  Mannering  ?  " 

"  Mrs.  Worth  saw  his  wife  and  fixed  the  matter  up.  I 
don't  know  how,  but  I  do  know  that  they  all  want  Play 
fellow  thrown  out  and  in  the  open,  Governor  —  that  is, 
give  'em  a  hint  of  what's  going  to  happen." 

"All  right,  in  the  open.     Good  day  to  you,  Willie." 

"Good  day,  Governor." 


CHAPTER  XVI 

A   POOL   OF   WATER 

JOHN  was  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior  looking  over 
a  large  tract  of  very  thickly  timbered  land,  but  at  the 
moment  he  was  not  viewing  the  property  with  the  idea 
of  using  nature's  growth.  He  was  trying  to  determine 
whether  this  area  carried  all  the  copper  ore  that  the 
vendors  claimed  for  it.  Besides  watching  the  output  of 
the  two  hundred  men  that  were  at  work,  he  was  tramping 
over  the  large  claim  to  fix  its  extent  and  its  geography 
definitely  in  his  mind.  He  had  reached  the  place  by  a 
power-boat  which  he  had  chartered  at  Sault  Ste  Marie, 
and  with  a  cook  he  located  his  camp  at  a  little  cup  in  the 
shore  about  two  miles  from  the  large  camp  of  men  who 
were  opening  up  the  different  leads. 

His  tramp  through  the  forest  with  the  surveyor  was  a 
joy  to  John,  for  the  silent  woods  appealed  to  him  strongly. 
He  had  made  the  great  round  of  the  property  and  was 
now  watching  the  developing  of  the  mines  with  growing 
interest,  as  he  saw  that  there  was  evidently  a  great  deal 
of  ore.  Experts  had  gone  over  the  land  many  times,  and 
all  the  reports  had  read  more  or  less  alike  as  to  the  value 
of  the  deposits,  but  as  the  property  was  very  expensive, 
John  wished  to  be  certain  that  all  was  what  it  was  repre 
sented  to  be. 

The  present  owners  were  honest  folk  and  would  not 
have  sold  their  mines  had  it  not  been  for  the  trust,  of 

179 


180  The  Mechanic 

which  they  were  afraid.  To  Worth  they  had  said,  "You 
have  the  money  and  you  do  not  fear  Playfellow.  Come 
and  see  what  we  have  and,  if  you  are  satisfied,  pay  our 
price."  Worth  liked  this  kind  of  talk,  and  after  spending 
two  weeks  on  the  land  had  determined  to  buy. 

There  was,  however,  something  on  the  property  that 
puzzled  him,  and  that  was  a  large  pool  of  amber-colored 
water  which  owed  its  size  and  depth  to  a  very  old 
mine.  Many  times  he  had  walked  to  this  pool,  which 
was  not  more  than  two  hundred  yards  distant  from  his 
camp,  and  the  more  he  saw  of  it  the  more  he  was  mystified. 

He  had  finally  decided  that  the  mound-builders,  that 
ancient  race  of  people  who  have  left  such  lasting  records 
of  their  habitation  near  Lake  Superior,  had  followed  deep 
into  the  earth  some  lead  or  vein  and  were  driven  out  by 
a  spring  of  water.  For  he  saw  the  face  of  the  rock  and 
the  earth  banks  on  either  side,  and  over  these  was  a  dense 
growth  of  old  trees.  The  overflow  trickled  into  the  little 
cup  in  the  lake  where  his  camp  was  located.  The  prime 
reason  for  John's  great  interest  in  this  pool  of  about 
an  acre  in  extent  was  that  one  day,  on  coming  home, 
he  tripped  and  fell  on  his  hands  into  the  little  over 
flow  that  ran  into  the  lake,  and  though  he  merely  wet 
the  palms  of  his  hands  and  held  them  out  as  he  walked 
toward  the  lake,  intending  to  wash  them,  on  looking 
again  he  was  surprised  to  see  them  absolutely  white 
and  clean.  They  appeared,  in  fact,  as  if  he  had  scoured 
them  thoroughly,  and  this  was  odd  because  he  had  been 
tramping  all  day  and  they  had  been  greatly  begrimed. 

So  he  went  on  to  camp  and,  undressing,  took  a  dip  in 
the  cool  waters  of  Superior.  Then  dinner  occupied  all 
of  his  attention,  but  afterwards  his  hands  again  claimed 
his  thoughts  because  they  felt  so  soft  and  grateful.  The 


A  Pool  of  Water  181 

next  day,  having  wiped  a  cylinder  of  his  power-boat  with 
his  handkerchief,  he  pulled  that  through  the  water  in  the 
pool,  and  to  his  surprise  it  came  out  clean.  John  now 
concluded  that  this  pool  contained  some  great  cleansing 
chemical,  and  the  constant  ripple  in  the  pool  told  him 
that  it  was  living  water.  When  his  handkerchief  had 
dried,  he  saw  that  attached  to  it  was  a  solid  wall  of 
white,  fluffy  substance,  and  he  then  gave  the  water  other 
tests,  always  thinking  of  it  as  a  cleanser.  He  was  amazed 
at  the  results,  for  a  bit  of  "  waste,"  solid  with  oil  and  dirt, 
came  from  the  water  as  clean  as  if  rinsed  in  chemicals 
for  an  hour. 

The  last  day  of  his  stay  he  made  a  box  of  green 
wood,  large  enough  to  hold  ten  or  twelve  gallons,  as 
he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  have  the  water  tested  to 
see  what  properties  it  contained.  But  the  box  was  faulty 
and  leaked,  so,  after  emptying  it,  he  put  oil  waste  in  the 
seams,  and  then  turning  into  it  the  contents  of  the  large 
square  tin  which  held  his  oil  supply  for  the  power-boat, 
he  went  to  the  pool  and  partially  filled  the  tin  with  water. 
Shaking  the  water  violently  about,  he  let  it  run  out  and 
then  his  nose  told  him  that  there  was  now  no  smell  of 
oil.  He  also  saw  that  the  outside  of  the  can,  which  had 
been  streaky  with  oil  and  dirt,  was  as  clean  as  when  it 
had  left  the  factory. 

John  laughed  aloud  and  said  to  the  pool,  "  I'll  turn  you 
into  a  laundry."  So  in  amusement  he  filled  the  can  and, 
corking  it,  started  for  his  camp.  Then  all  being  ready, 
he  sent  his  oil  toward  the  carbureters  and  turned  a 
crank  to  start  his  engines.  The  explosion  which  drove 
the  cylinders  told  him  that  he  had  struck  an  unusual  lot 
of  oil,  because  the  detonation,  instead  of  being  sharp, 
was  as  heavy  as  the  boom  of  a  cannon,  and  the  boat  jumped 


182  The  Mechanic 

forward  with  great  speed.  Being  a  mechanic,  he  was 
careful  to  see  if  the  cylinders  were  damaged,  but  they 
were  not,  and  then  John  kept  his  feed  valve  very  low, 
thinking  that  the  booms  would  soon  stop  and  the  sharp 
sound,  that  he  knew,  would  be  resumed.  But  in  all  that 
run  of  a  hundred  miles  John  saw  that  his  engines  were 
being  driven  by  a  new  force,  as  if  the  oil  were  charged 
with  dynamite,  and  he  realized  that  if  he  turned  on  full 
power  to  his  cylinders  they  would  be  blown  to  pieces. 

On  the  arrival  at  the  "Soo,"  he  lifted  the  lid  and 
looked  with  a  puzzled  face  at  the  box  which  contained 
the  oil,  and,  putting  his  face  close  down,  was  startled 
to  find  that  it  had  no  odor  whatever.  He  took  the 
wooden  box  out  of  the  boat  and,  packing  it  carefully, 
never  lost  sight  of  it  until  it  was  in  his  laboratory 
over  the  bank  in  New  York.  Then  going  to  King's 
office,  he  said,  "  I  have  bought  the  copper  property. 
Willie  will  take  care  of  the  details  and  in  due  course  we 
will  be  in  the  copper  business.  I  am  going  back  there  at 
once,  and  in  the  meantime  we  want  to  secure  fifty  or  sixty 
acres  of  meadow  land,  as  close  as  you  can  get  it  to  our 
Jersey  property.  We  are  also  going  into  the  oil  business 
now,  and  we  shall  want  this  property  for  an  oil  refinery. 
I  hope  you  still  intend  to  join  me  in  this  venture  ?  " 

King  left  the  chair  in  which  he  was  sitting,  and  John 
smiled  as  he  saw  him  go  to  the  ticker.  In  a  few  moments 
the  old  man  said,  "  I'll  telephone  Willie  to  buy,"  and  he 
knew  by  these  simple  words  that  King  was  his  partner 
in  oil.  In  a  few  minutes  King  interrupted  John's  descrip 
tion  of  the  Lake  Superior  purchase  by  asking : 

"  Have  you  been  home  ?  " 

"  I  only  just  arrived  and  was  anxious  to  get  the  copper 
properly  on  way  to  settlement.  Am  off  now  to  see 


A  Pool  of  Water  183 

Catherine  and  the  boy.  Good-by,  as  I  won't  see  you 
again  for  some  weeks." 

But  at  that  statement  King  smiled  —  "  I'll  see  you  to 
night.  But  no,  I  mustn't  tell  you  other  than  that  our 
plans  have  prospered.  What  is  it,  John  ?  As  I  see  you 
with  the  light  on  your  face,  you  seem  as  though  you 
were  laboring  with  some  excitement." 

"  I  have  an  idea,  but  I  am  not  sure  of  it  yet.  I  think  at 
the  end  of  another  two  or  three  weeks  I  shall  astonish 
you." 

John  went  home  and  learned  that  he  was  booked  for 
a  big  dinner  and  reception  at  Lurgan's.  That  evening 
Catherine  said,  "  Oh,  John,  father  has  met  his  match ! 
Jo  bosses  him  all  over  the  place.  Here  is  the  list  of 
guests  to-night.  And  I'm  so  glad  that  you  don't  mind 
our  going  to  him  this  summer.  But  will  you  really  be 
away  most  of  the  hot  weather  ?  Surely  you  don't  harbor 
any  ill-will  against  father,  John  ?  " 

"  Of  course  not ;  why  should  I  ?  " 

"  I'm  thinking  of  your  poor  uncle  David.  He  told  me 
that  story  and  oh,  John,  how  silent  you  can  be !  But  those 
others  make  me  feel  creepy.  I  should  like  to  hurt  them," 
said  Catherine,  determinedly. 

The  meeting  between  Lurgan  and  John  came  off  better 
than  Catherine  expected.  Her  womanly  wit  suggested 
that  their  first  meeting  should  take  place  before  strangers. 
She  went  to  her  father's  early  so  as  to  take  a  look  at  the 
rooms  to  see  that  the  flowers  and  other  matters  pertain 
ing  to  the  dinner  were  arranged  properly,  and  also  to 
be  there  for  the  first  arrival,  as  she  was  to  receive  the 
guests. 

"No,  you  can't  come  with  me,"  she  said  to  John,  "I 
want  to  show  you  the  old  house  in  gay  attire,  which  means 


184  The  Mechanic 

that  I  want  to  surprise  you.  So  come  exactly  at  eight  — 
not  a  minute  before." 

On  the  moment  he  was  at  Lurgan's  door,  and  Slater 
smiled  on  seeing  Mr.  Snowman.  The  servants  made 
a  point  of  taking  his  coat  and  serving  him  in  other 
little  ways,  which  showed  John  that  he  had  merely  come 
from  one  home  to  another.  Going  upstairs  he  came  to 
the  reception-rooms,  where  he  heard  the  hum  of  voices, 
and  entering,  Lurgan  came  forward,  as  if  he  had  been  in 
the  habit  of  meeting  his  son-in-law  every  day,  and  holding 
out  his  hand  said,  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  had  their 
ears  wide  open,  "  Good  trip  West,  John  ?  " 

Smiling,  Worth  replied,  as  he  grasped  the  old  man's 
hand,  "  Very  good  —  every  way,  thanks.  It's  pleasant  to 
be  home  again." 

Lurgan's  strong  face  beamed  at  the  word  home,  and 
in  many  ways  he  disappointed  those  who  thought  to  see 
him  show  reserve  or  coolness  toward  Worth.  Later 
that  night,  when  the  guests  were  gone,  he  said  to  John, 
"I  have  been  getting  a  lot  of  information  from  Willie, 
but  I  should  esteem  it  a  favor  if  you  told  me  your  pro 
gram." 

"  I  am  going  after  their  oil  business." 

"That  is  dangerous." 

"  I  know  it,  but  I  can't  stop  now." 

Then  the  old  banker  thought  for  a  time  and  said 
quietly,  "What  will  you  take  for  an  interest  in  the  John 
Worth  Bank?" 

And  now  John  was  startled,  and  he  said  slowly,  "  King 
is  alone  in  the  world  and  he  knows  from  experience  what 
failure  is,  and  Willie  is  young.  In  other  words,  the  John 
Worth  Bank  will  shortly  assume  an  undertaking  that  is 
extremely  hazardous,  for  I  won't  stop  short  of  the  last 


A  Pool  of  Water  185 

dollar.  I  shall,  of  course,  make  things  clear  to  King 
later  on  and  give  him  a  chance  to  pull  out,  but  I  feel, 
somehow,  that  he  will  stick;  but  with  you  it  is  different, 
as  you  have  so  much  more  than  money  to  lose." 

"I  see  it  all,  the  fight,  and  the  possibility  of  failure, 
and  I  again  ask  what  will  an  interest  equal  to  yours  or 
King's  cost  me?" 

"King  started  the  bank  with  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  I  have  since  returned  him  eighty  thousand  dol 
lars  for  control  and  Willie's  share.  If  you  will  pay  me 
twenty  thousand  dollars  you  shall  have  a  fifth.  How  is 
that?" 

"  Why,  John,  a  fifth  is  worth  many  hundred  times  more 
than  twenty  thousand  dollars." 

"  To  a  stranger  or  investor,  yes,  but  you  are  different 
and  of  course  you  must  see  all  I  mean." 

"  All  right,  John,  I'll  send  Willie  the  check  to-morrow; 
and  now,  boy,  put  up  the  strongest  fight  you  know  how." 

"  I  think  I'll  satisfy  you  in  that  respect." 

And  they  parted,  not  great  friends,  perhaps,  but  with 
at  least  a  sense  of  mutual  respect.  Lurgan  saw  now 
with  clear  eyes  the  potentiality  of  the  bank,  and  when  he 
called  on  King  the  following  morning,  to  tell  him  what 
he  and  John  had  arranged,  he  again  asserted  that  twenty 
thousand  dollars  was  not  enough  for  an  interest. 

King  replied,  "I  have  very  seldom  heard  John  talk 
finance.  But  I  know  that  it  was  Radley's  hope  to  event 
ually  get  you  interested  in  the  bank.  Long  ago  I  suggested 
giving  you  a  share  and  letting  you  in  at  the  bottom  as 
that  would  mean  a  combination  that  could  not  be  whipped, 
so  I  am  not  hearing  anything  new  this  morning.  Of 
course  you  see  what  is  opening  up.  John  means  to  fight 
the  Oil  crowd.  That  is  a  colossal  undertaking,  but 


186  The  Mechanic 

neither  you  nor  I  dare  say  he  cannot  do  it,  as  witness 
what  he  did  with  Steel.  Willie  thinks  you  can  destroy 
their  power  in  the  railroad  world  and  it  is  also  his  notion 
that  you  and  I,  working  together,  can  materially  hurt  them 
financially.  But  of  course  we  must  work  systematically 
and,  well,  the  bank  is  a  good  clearing-house." 

Thinking  of  his  question  to  Radley,  Lurgan  said,  "  Who 
runs  the  bank,  Jim?" 

And  the  old  man  walked  to  the  ticker  and  lifting  the 
tape  answered,  "Willie  is  a  clever  youth  and  I  like  him, 
too,  but  he  is  not  in  John's  class,  and  I  don't  believe  we 
are  either,  Lurgan.  Of  course  I  see  that  all  these  plans 
are  Worth's,  and  somehow  you  can't  kick  or  say  a  word 
as  he  possesses  marvelous  magnetism,  ability,  and  courage. 
You  remember,  perhaps,  when  Southern  went  to  a  corner. 
I  was  on  the  right  side  of  that  deal  and  was  in  a  par 
ticularly  happy  frame  of  mind,  for  I  had  made  a  lot  of 
trouble  for  the  Playfellow  ring.  John  came  in,  I  told 
him  about  the  deal,  and  he  said,  'As  it  looks  easy,  why 
not  rush  the  stock  to  one  thousand?'  Well,  I  gave  the 
orders  and  next  day  the  stock  exchange  had  to  arrange 
the  settlements.  I  tell  you  that  story  to  show  you  John's 
influence  over  me." 

After  a  few  moments,  King  added,  "  He  is  a  rare,  special 
kind  of  devil,  with  no  more  idea  of  fear  than  the  chair 
you  are  sitting  in.  I  never  thought  of  questioning  his 
judgment  and  he  was  here  all  that  day  as  happy  as  pos 
sible.  When  I  asked  him  why  he  did  not  come  on  the 
Street,  he  laughed  and  said,  *  My  way  of  hurting  them  is 
more  thorough.' " 

"  If  he  only  loved  Catherine,"  Lurgan  cried,  "  I  should 
be  the  happiest  man  in  the  world,  for  he  possesses  all  the 
essentials  I  like."  Then  quickly  changing  his  frown 


A  Pool  of  Water  187 

he  added,  "It  was  fun  last  night  watching  the  little  ants 
hover  around  my  girl."  And,  rising,  he  said,  "Don't 
forget  Sunday  night  and  the  music." 

Lurgan  went  to  his  office  feeling  pleased  that  he  was 
father-in-law  to  John  Worth. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE   OIL   WAR   BEGINS 

JOHN  left  New  York  the  next  day  for  the  silent  pool, 
but  this  time  he  was  alone  with  the  little  power  boat, 
the  great  woods,  and  the  stretches  of  water.  He  made 
boxes  of  all  sizes  and  found  that  after  the  wood  was 
allowed  to  soak  in  the  amber-colored  pool  the  odor  of  the 
crude  oil  with  which  he  previously  filled  them  disap 
peared.  Something  in  the  water  took  away  the  smell  and 
gave  the  oil  a  new  property  which  made  it  more  viscid  but 
more  transparent,  the  size  of  the  box  seeming  to  make 
no  difference. 

After  many  tests,  for  he  had  carried  five  barrels  of 
ordinary  crude  oil  in  his  power  boat,  he  found  that  the 
soaked  wood  would  deodorize  the  contents  of  a  full 
barrel,  and  his  oil  stove  showed  him  that  the  oil  so  treated 
would  burn  about  five  times  as  long  as  that  untreated. 
After  soaking  one  of  the  boxes  in  the  spring,  he  dried  the 
wood  thoroughly  in  the  sun  and  found,  on  filling  it 
with  oil,  that  the  potency  for  refining  and  transmuting 
the  contents  was  undiminished.  This  test  afforded  him 
especial  satisfaction,  while  other  experiments  which  he 
made  convinced  him  that  the  illuminating,  as  well  as 
the  heating  value  of  his  refined  product  was  increased 
some  four  or  five  fold. 

When  he  had  made  sure  of  every  point  he  left  the 
copper  property  and,  going  into  a  populous  interior  town 

188 


The  Oil  War  Begins  189 

of  Michigan,  contracted  for  a  large  barrel  factory  to 
be  erected  the  coming  winter  on  the  shore  of  his  little 
bay.  Then  he  journeyed  South  where  crude  oil  was  going 
to  waste,  and  made  contracts  whereby  he  agreed  to  take 
the  total  yield  for  three  years. 

John  was  in  the  South  three  weeks  before  Playfellow 
heard  of  him  and  his  mission,  and  the  magnate  greatly 
rejoiced  when  he  learned  of  Worth's  tremendous  purchases, 
for  now  he  thought  he  had  a  grip  on  the  man  whom  he  hated 
so  intensely.  But  John  did  not  delay  long  in  the  South,  as 
when  it  was  known  what  he  was  after,  scores  of  dealers 
came  to  him,  delighted  that  they  had  at  last  found  a 
market  for  their  oil.  Playfellow  had  been  for  years 
strangling  these  people  by  paying  them  prices  that  did 
not  cover  their  expenses,  and  as  the  Texans  and  others 
knew  that  Worth  had  driven  Playfellow  to  his  knees  on 
Steel,  and  as  they  were  aware  that  he  had  the  money 
to  pay  for  that  which  he  bought,  they  not  only  gave  him 
all  he  wanted,  but  agreed  to  keep  their  surplus  for  him. 
In  other  words,  they  would  not  sell  to  Playfellow. 

But  all  wondered  why  Worth  did  not  build  a  pipe  line. 
One  man  of  prominence  said  to  him,  "Look  here,  not 
withstanding  Playfellow's  lobby,  in  three  hours  we  will 
pass  a  law  granting  you  a  permit."  To  this  John 
laughingly  replied,  "  I  don't  care  for  the  pipe  line.  I  am 
to  send  my  barrels  knocked  down,  you  fill  and  ship  them 
to  New  York  and  I  pay  only  on  these  barrels  which  my 
agent  passes."  Nothing  more  could  be  said  to  a  man 
who  knew  so  exactly  what  he  wanted. 

When  he  was  again  in  New  York,  Willie  said  to  him 
jovially,  "Well,  John,  we  will  at  least  keep  warm  this 
winter." 

King,  who  knew  of  these  enormous  purchases,  said 


190  The  Mechanic 

nothing;  he  was  waiting  for  John  to  speak.  And  when 
Worth  did,  of  course  he  walked  to  his  ticker  and  then 
replied,  "Then  we  live  for  the  next  two  or  three  years. 
I  always  felt  that  I  would  strike  something  exciting  before 
I  died." 

Lurgan  exclaimed,  "  Give  them  hell  —  that's  all  I  ask," 
and  John  began  building  his  refineries  in  the  meadows  by 
the  river. 

When  frost  came  he  went  West  to  superintend  his 
barrel  factory  and  was  pleased  to  see  his  pool  frozen  over. 
As  he  was  in  a  lumbering  community  he  had  no  trouble 
in  putting  an  immense  force  of  men  to  work  cutting  and 
hauling  lumber  to  his  mill.  In  the  spring  he  began  the 
manufacture  of  barrels,  and  as  his  mill  contained  every 
modern  contrivance  and  some  of  his  own  inventions  as 
well,  he  could  rightly  say  that  the  logs  went  in  one  opening 
of  the  mill  to  come  out  barrels  at  the  other.  A  sluiceway 
carried  the  staves  and  hoops  to  the  pool,  where  they  were 
left  until  the  pool  was  filled,  and  then  they  were  taken 
out  on  the  lake  side  and  put  in  ships  and  sent  to  their 
destination. 

An  East-sider,  a  man  whom  John  could  trust,  was  put 
in  charge  of  the  mill.  To  him  John  said,  "  All  staves  and 
heads  must  go  through  that  pond  as  the  water  there 
contains  something  that  cleanses  them.  I'll  certainly 
know  if  you  make  any  mistake  in  this  simple  direction, 
and  when  the  pool  is  full,  pile  in  the  sheds,  and  ship  as 
I  have  directed  in  units.  Every  barrel,  that  is,  staves, 
heads,  and  hoops,  must  be  securely  tied  together  and  all 
must  go  through  that  pool."  The  foreman  said  firmly, 
"  Trust  me,  John,"  and  then  Worth  went  to  New  York, 
confident  that  he  had  attended  to  everything  and  that  he 
had  also  arranged  for  an  enormous  supply  of  oil. 


The  Oil  War  Begins  191 

It  was  imperative  that  his  building  in  the  meadows 
should  take  the  shape  of  a  real  refinery,  for  the  oil  in  the 
barrel  was  to  come  here,  be  emptied  and  rebarreled  in 
well-made  iron-hooped  barrels.  He  had  erected  another 
barrel  factory  for  this  purpose,  for  it  was  very  important 
to  make  every  one,  even  King,  Lurgan,  and  Willie,  believe 
that  the  oil  was  deodorized  in  the  meadows.  Conse 
quently  he  built  a  receiving  building,  which  contained  a 
large  quantity  of  moving  wheels  which  were  to  make  a 
great  noise,  and  in  addition  he  put  into  his  tank  hun 
dreds  of  wires,  for  he  wanted  to  establish  the  idea  that  he 
deodorized  oil  electrically.  He  knew  well  that  the  greatest 
living  electrician  could  not  say  that  such  a  process  was 
impossible,  and  when  this  building  was  completed  it 
looked  very  much  like  business.  From  the  moment  it 
was  finished  it  became  a  closed  book  to  all  the  world, 
for  no  one  was  allowed  inside  but  four  men  whom  John 
knew  he  could  trust.  But  even  these  were  deceived,  as 
they  started  the  dynamos  after  the  huge  tank  was  full  of 
oil,  and  they  did  not  suspect  but  that  their  work  was 
deodorizing  the  oil. 

The  tank  was  closed  to  them,  for  the  barrels  that  came 
from  the  oil  fields  were  unloaded  in  the  yards  and  from 
there  carried  by  wire  rope  to  a  platform  where  they  were 
broken  by  machinery.  The  oil  ran  into  the  tank  and 
the  empty  barrels  were  sent  down  a  shoot  to  the  engine- 
room,  where  they  were  burnt  as  fuel.  The  workmen  on 
the  inside  followed  the  indicator,  which  showed  the  level 
of  the  oil  in  the  tank,  and  kept  the  wheels  going,  firm  in 
the  belief  that  they  were  making  deodorized  oil,  whereas 
all  this  pretense  was  merely  a  blind  to  hide  the  great  power 
of  the  little  pool  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Superior.  Simul 
taneously  with  the  erection  of  the  Meadows  plant,  which 


192  The  Mechanic 

included  factories  for  the  manufacture  of  the  by-products 
of  the  oil,  such  as  vaseline  and  others,  John  was  erecting 
an  immense  building  near  his  type-machine  works  for 
the  manufacture  of  oil  stoves  and  burners.  He  had  in 
vented  a  scheme  for  turning  up  or  lowering  any  number 
of  wicks  in  a  burner  by  the  simple  process  of  turning  one 
small  wheel,  and  this  invention  permitted  him  to  arrange 
his  wicks  in  circles  that  might  be  expanded  into  any 
number.  His  invention  handled  the  flat  or  rectangular 
wicks  equally  well,  so  that  he  was  enabled  to  throw  into 
a  small  or  large  fireplace  an  amount  of  heat  that  coal 
could  not  equal. 

When  his  initial  plans  were  perfected  and  the  tools 
built  so  that  he  could  make  stoves  and  burners  quickly, 
John  gave  to  the  public  prints  the  story  of  his  plant  and 
his  aims.  In  a  public  demonstration  he  showed  that  no 
matter  how  his  oil  was  applied,  it  was  five  times  better 
than  the  product  that  had  heretofore  been  used.  A  situa 
tion  full  of  potentialities  was  of  course  at  once  created, 
for  the  public  knew  that  Worth  would  not  sell  or  combine 
with  Playfellow,  and  they  were  also  aware  that  Worth 
was  now  attacking  the  great  money  king  on  his  own 
ground. 

So  John  was  generously  supported,  and  his  oil  was 
purchased  at  two  dollars  a  barrel  in  preference  to  Play 
fellow's  at  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents.  In  doing  this  the 
public  knew  full  well  that  they  were  helping  themselves, 
because  they  found  that  Worth's  statements  as  to  his  oil 
were  correct.  But  apart  from  its  comparative  value, 
John's  oil  was  free  from  odor,  and  it  was  this  great  fact 
that  made  his  commodity  popular.  In  a  short  time  he 
was  doing  a  thriving  business  in  oil  by  the  barrel,  to  the 
very  great  annoyance  of  Playfellow  and  his  handy  man, 


The  Oil  War  Begins  193 

Hodges,  who,  with  the  loss  of  his  great  fortune  in  Steel, 
had  become  Playfellow's  shadow  in  crime.  And  now 
these  two  men  laughed,  that  is,  almost  laughed,  for  real 
mirth  could  not  exist  on  their  lips  or  in  their  hearts,  and 
they  rubbed  their  hands  many  times  and  said  they  now 
had  Worth  where  they  wanted  him.  They  forthwith 
reduced  the  price  of  oil  to  one  dollar  a  barrel  and  began 
their  operations.  They  would  have  liked  to  have  ended 
Worth's  career  by  an  assassin,  but  they  had  never  for 
gotten  his  threat  and  they  were  afraid  to  try  the  quick 
and  expeditious  way  that  had  been  so  useful  to  them 
on  many  occasions  when  any  man  dared  to  enter  the 
oil  business. 

They  were,  of  course,  making  every  endeavor  to  dis 
cover  how  Worth  deodorized  oil,  but  it  was  impossible 
to  get  a  man  into  his  refinery.  They  had  sent  a  trusty  to 
the  Lake  Superior  mill,  who  reported,  "  Merely  a  fine  large 
barrel  factory,  nothing  more."  Another  had  gone  South 
to  the  oil  fields  and  reported,  "  Only  crude  oil  is  put  in 
the  barrels."  They  had  tried  hard  to  bribe  some  of  the 
refinery  hands  as  to  Worth's  method,  only  to  find  that 
there  were  still  honest  men  in  the  world. 

Hodges  said,  "It's  no  use,  as  the  refinery  where  they 
change  the  oil  is  a  closed  book.  I  found  an  old  man 
partially  blind,  who  has  a  daughter  about  sixteen,  and  I 
think  we  could  get  at  him,  but  he  only  delivers  lunches 
from  the  boarding-house  on  the  hill  and  his  information 
is  worthless.  Besides,  he  is  never  admitted  to  the  refinery ; 
he  taps  on  the  door  and  then  his  work  is  finished  until 
twelve  at  night.  His  girl  always  goes  with  him  to  show 
him  the  way." 

And  so  Playfellow  for  once  was  balked,  and  with  a 
terrible  fear  he  saw  Worth's  growing  business. 


194  The  Mechanic 

But  up  to  this  time  John  was  selling  oil  only  for  lamp 
use  and  to  railroads,  and  here  he  had  a  large  sale  as 
Lurgan  took  care  that  all  his  roads  ordered  the  Worth 
oil.  But  the  Western  and  the  other  large  systems  would 
not  buy  from  John,  and  as  they  were  using  his  process  in 
their  steel  mill,  he  had  it  taken  out  and  then  told  all  the 
Independents  to  treble  prices  on  all  Western  orders.  In 
an  advertisement  John  at  once  warned  the  public  against 
traveling  on  a  road — mentioning  the  Western  —  which  used 
brittle  steel  for  axles.  This  started  the  war,  and  Play 
fellow  immediately  lowered  his  oil  to  fifty,  then  to  twenty- 
five  cents  a  barrel. 

John  now  launched  his  big  scheme  of  burners  and  stoves 
and  made  an  announcement  to  all  housekeepers,  of  whom 
there  were  about  twelve  millions,  "You  have  been  using 
a  furnace  which  burns  coal  and,  if  your  house  is  a  small 
one,  it  has  cost  you  fifty  dollars  a  winter  to  keep  warm. 
I  can  arrange  my  burner  so  as  to  fit  your  furnace,  and 
by  using  our  oil  you  will  be  able  to  heat  your  house  for 
twenty  dollars. "  Taking  a  seven-room  house  as  a  basis, 
he  made  his  scale,  for  he  had  burners  that  would  fit  fur 
naces  of  all  sizes.  To  those  who  had  flats  he  gave  his 
price  on  stoves  at  one  dollar  each,  and  guaranteed  that 
the  heating  of  a  small  flat  would  not  cost  more  than 
fifteen  dollars,  which  included  heat  for  cooking  as  well. 
But  it  was  to  houses  that  John  paid  particular  attention, 
for  he  well  knew  that  furnace  expenses  ran  into  millions 
of  dollars  annually,  and  as  the  furnace  is  usually  tended 
by  the  head  of  the  family,  he  attached  to  his  burner  a 
scheme  for  turning  it  on  or  off  from  the  hall  upstairs,  so 
that  a  visit  to  the  cellar  to  fix  the  fire  was  not  necessary. 
As  the  oil  was  furnished  automatically  to  the  furnace  and 
burners,  he  hoped  that  he  would  interest  many  house- 


The  Oil  War  Begins  195 

holders,  and  he  did,  for  his  orders  for  burners  and  oil 
far  exceeded  his  expectations.  His  stoves,  too,  were 
ordered  in  great  numbers,  as  the  price  of  one  dollar, 
compared  with  the  five  dollars  which  the  trust  charged, 
made  his  article  very  popular,  and  he  made  "No  smell" 
a  byword. 

Cutting  prices  did  not  affect  John  in  the  least,  as  he 
still  charged  two  dollars  a  barrel  for  his  oil,  and  even 
during  the  first  year  he  made  a  very  handsome  profit 
and,  at  the  same  time,  had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing 
that  he  had  forced  Playfellow  to  cut  down  his  monthly 
dividend  of  ten  per  cent  to  five  per  cent.  This  so 
gladdened  the  hearts  of  King  and  Lurgan,  that  out  of 
pure  joy  they  hammered  oil  stock  from  nine  hundred 
dollars  to  three  hundred  dollars  a  share. 

Willie,  too,  was  beaming,  and  especially  so  because 
on  this  Saturday  John  was  to  call  for  him  at  one  o'clock 
with  his  new  automobile  and,  after  lunch  in  the  bank, 
they  were  to  go  to  Lurgan's  place  up  the  river  for  Cather 
ine.  They  proposed  then  to  take  a  sixty-mile  ride  to 
Platt's,  near  Bernardsville,  where  they  were  to  spend  the 
week's  end,  and  as  Willie  had  not  seen  his  heart's  delight, 
Polly,  for  two  weeks,  he  now  tingled  with  anticipation 
and  pleasurable  excitement. 

In  two  hours  they  were  at  Lurgan's  and  shortly  they 
were  on  the  long  road  to  Platt's.  Catherine  always 
enjoyed  her  husband  as  chauffeur,  for  with  him  nothing 
ever  went  wrong.  They  were  not  accompanied  by  ser 
vants  or  luggage,  as  these  followed  in  another  machine, 
and  John  loved  motoring,  as  it  was  his  only  outdoor 
amusement. 

When  they  were  nearly  half-way,  Catherine  said,  "  Do 
let  us  stop  at  Fowler's.  It's  so  pleasant  and  so  much  like 


196  The  Mechanic 

the  country  inns  of  England."  And  when  they  arrived 
at  the  pleasant  little  wayside  hotel,  Fowler  came  out  and 
bade  them  all  welcome.  To  Catherine  he  said,  "Always 
glad  to  see  you,  Mrs.  Worth,  and  how  are  your  father  and 
Master  Jo?" 

"Very  well,  thank  you,  Fowler!  And  yes,  I'm  thirsty, 
so  serve  iced  coffee  in  the  orchard,  please,  as  I'm  sure  it's 
too  warm  inside." 

The  old  housekeeper  and  his  wife  fussed  considerably 
over  Catherine,  for  they  had  both  worked  for  her  father, 
one  as  butler  and  the  other  as  housemaid.  And  after 
they  were  married  Lurgan  had  bought  them  this  farm 
and,  starting  a  hotel,  they  were  much  patronized  by 
touring  parties. 

Before  John  had  stopped  his  engines  in  the  yard  of  the 
hotel,  a  chauffeur,  coming  up  to  him,  said,  '*  I'm  driver 
for  the  Mannerings  and  our  machine  broke  down  about 
two  miles  from  here.  Perhaps  you  will  loan  me  a  battery, 
if  you  have  an  extra  one,  as  ours  is  dead  ?  " 

John  answered,  "  Jump  in,"  and  in  a  few  minutes  he 
found  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mannering  by  the  roadside  awaiting 
the  return  of  the  driver.  Having  met  them  before,  he 
said  laughingly,  "Come  and  join  us,  ?/'  are  at  Fowler's." 

"That's  just  where  we  are  going,"  exclaimed  Helen 
Mannering.  "And  it  was  so  very  good  of  you  to  come 
to  us.  Neil,  let  us  drive  with  Mr.  Worth,  and  our  man  can 
follow." 

Very  soon  all  were  seated  in  the  orchard  and  served 
with  iced  drinks.  Mrs.  Mannering  and  Catherine,  who 
were  old  friends,  talked  animatedly  about  cars  and  their 
frolics,  and  Neil  Mannering  and  John  were  discussing  that 
which  was  farthest  from  their  thoughts,  politics.  The  men 
were  studying  each  other,  looking  into  each  other's  eyes 


The  Oil  War  Begins  197 

and  groping  for  the  thread  of  underlying  purpose  which 
each  knew  existed  in  the  other.  Willie  was  watching  the 
two,  apparently  without  doing  so. 

But  Willie  ceased  to  study  Worth  and  Mannering  when 
he  reached  Platt's.  He  was  saying  good  day  to  Polly  in 
the  library,  where  they  were  alone.  The  young  lady,  her 
head  lightly  tilted,  cried,  "  I  suppose  I  must  speak  to  you, 
as  you  are  a  guest." 

"  Look  here,  Polly,  if  you  ever  treat  me  that  way  again 
I'll  tell  your  mother,  and  I  feel  sure  that  she'll  punish 
you." 

"I  am  not  Polly  to  you,  please  remember  that.  And 
you  were  perfectly  shocking  the  last  time  I  was  with  you." 

"  Ugh,"  cried  Willie,  "  I  like  that,  when  I  had  all  I  could 
do  to  keep  you  from  kissing  me." 

"Oh,  William  Radley,  you  are  perfectly  horrid!"  and 
Polly,  with  eyes  full  of  anger,  stamped  her  foot. 

"  Are  you  going  to  marry  me,  Polly  ?  " 

"  Look  here,"  and  Polly  went  up  close  to  Willie,  "  If 
you  were  the  very  last  man  in  the  world,  I  would  refuse 
you.  Now  will  you  take  that  as  final  ?  " 

Then  Willie  pulled  out  his  little  book  and,  examining 
it,  cried,  "  You  have  refused  me  twenty-three  times  and, 
hardened  girl,  you  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  yourself. 
Say,  Polly." 

"Call  me  Miss  Platt." 

"Polly,  come  and  show  me  the  garden,  it's  only  half 
past  six." 

"Will  you  be  good?" 

"As  an  angel";  and  then  the  two  walked  out  among 
the  roses  and  very  shortly  were  apparently  the  best  of 
friends. 

And  in  that  week-end  party  at  the  Platts,  John  secured 


198  The  Mechanic 

the  respect  and  esteem  of  the  largest  owner  of  Midland, 
for  Mannering  had  said  to  him  Monday  morning,  "  I 
believe  you  are  dining  with  us  this  week,  but  come  and 
see  me  at  my  office  one  day  soon,  as  I  want  to  hear  more 
about  your  fight  with  the  Oil  people." 

"Thank  you,"  John  replied.  "I'll  call  Wednesday 
morning." 

This  invitation  meant  much  to  John,  for  he  saw  clearly 
that  he  would  need  every  assistance  in  his  fight  with 
Playfellow.  The  Midland,  through  its  allied  roads,  was 
a  big  factor  in  the  West  and  Southwest,  but  Mannering 
had  not  gone  beyond  the  Midland  proper  in  helping 
Lurgan.  It  was  an  open  secret  that  it  was  his  wife  who 
had  insisted  on  his  compelling  Playfellow  and  Hodges  to 
resign  from  the  directorate  of  the  road  which  her  grand 
father  had  built.  Lurgan  had  been  working  on  this  big 
silent  man  for  a  year  with  the  hope  of  getting  him  to  in 
struct  the  presidents  of  the  different  roads  in  which  he 
was  interested  to  buy  Worth's  deodorized  oil,  but  so  far 
Mannering  had  only  marked  time,  for  he  had  said  that 
such  action  might  mean  a  railroad  war,  the  Northern 
clique  being  strongly  for  Playfellow.  He  did  not  yet  feel 
certain  that  Worth  would  not  combine,  and  this  was  his 
real  reason  for  his  stand  in  this  deadlock. 

Willie,  finding  Polly  in  an  amiable  mood  one  day,  had 
suggested  a  week-end  party  to  bring  Worth  and  Mannering 
together,  and  in  the  two  days  under  the  same  roof  they 
had  become  acquainted.  When  Willie  saw  how  well  his 
little  scheme  was  going,  he  said  some  things  to  Polly  such 
as,  "  When  you  are  my  wife,  I'll  treat  you  every  week  to 
a  cream  puff  and  some  good  advice."  And  as  words  of 
this  kind  always  meant  a  row,  they  were  generally  at 
sword's  point,  to  Catherine's  infinite  amusement. 


The  Oil  War  Begins  199 

To  see  Willie  at  a  house  party  made  one  wonder  if  he 
were  ever  serious,  and  where  he  kept  his  business  knowl 
edge,  as  apparently  he  did  not  possess  any  other  faculty 
but  the  one  of  amusing.  When  cogitating  about  Willie, 
which  was  very  often,  Polly  marveled  why  he  was  trusted 
so  much  by  Mr.  Lurgan,  for  it  was  very  evident  that  he 
was  the  banker's  confidential  aide-de-camp. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  WINNING   OF   MIDLAND 

AT  the  end  of  the  second  year  Willie's  balance  sheet 
did  not  wear  so  agreeable  an  aspect  as  was  formerly  the 
case.  In  October  of  that  year,  Playfellow  and  his  clique 
offered  a  stove  and  sufficient  oil  for  the  winter  for  one 
dollar,  and  to  householders  a  special  furnace  made  to 
burn  his  oil,  and  with  it  oil  for  six  months'  use  for  two 
dollars.  Here,  indeed,  was  a  cut,  and  as  the  fight  had 
been  going  on  for  more  than  a  year  the  public  had  lost 
their  first  great  interest  and  saw  only  a  chance  to  keep 
warm  during  the  cold  weather  for  almost  nothing.  Toward 
the  end  of  the  same  month,  when  John  was  in  the  South, 
Lurgan  and  King  met  at  the  bank  and,  against  the  wishes 
of  Willie,  cut  the  price  of  their  oil  to  fifty  cents  a  barrel. 
They  also  made  a  sixty  per  cent  reduction  in  burners 
and  stoves,  and  when  John  saw  this  announcement  in 
the  papers,  he  smiled  and  thought,  "  Here  at  last  is  bank 
ruptcy  for  some  one." 

In  the  meantime  many  oil  fields  had  been  offered  to 
John  and  he  had  a  staff  of  experts  looking  at  properties, 
but  so  far  he  had  not  found  what  he  wanted.  His  first 
great  requirement  was  something  with  an  unusually  good 
output  and  near  the  seaboard.  John  knew  that  in  order 
to  make  a  long,  hot  fight,  he  must  own  his  own  oil  wells, 
for,  with  the  cut  in  prices,  orders  increased,  and  as  every 
purchase  was  now  filled  at  a  loss  it  was  important  to 
make  the  loss  as  light  as  possible. 

200 


The  Winning  of  Midland  201 

Early  in  November  he  secured  what  he  wanted  in  an 
oil  field  that  met  all  his  requirements,  and  when  he  had 
bought  it  he  felt  that  the  outlook  was  a  shade  brighter. 
But  his  faint  joy  was  nipped  in  December,  for  Lurgan 
and  King  then  made  a  further  reduction  all  around,  and 
now  the  public  saw  a  death  grapple  between  great  forces. 
At  the  end  of  the  season  Willie  did  not  smile,  nor  did 
Playfellow  rub  his  hands  with  pleasure,  for  that  year  he 
passed  his  dividends  and  King  hammered  his  stock  from 
three  hundred  dollars  to  ten  dollars  a  share. 

In  the  meantime  the  fight  had  extended  to  other  coun 
tries.  But  John  would  not  sell  oil  to  Europe  for  less  than 
one  dollar  a  barrel,  which  was  the  equivalent  of  twenty 
cents  for  the  Playfellow  article.  Lurgan  and  King  being 
very  busy  on  the  Street,  he  remained  in  New  York  to 
handle  the  fight,  endeavoring  to  supply  only  his  regular 
customers.  He  was  well  aware  that  his  wealth,  added  to 
that  of  Lurgan  and  King,  was  not  to  be  compared  to  the 
resources  of  Playfellow  and  his  associates,  so  he  nursed  his 
business  and  his  money,  realizing  that  now  was  the  time 
for  economy  and  strategy.  But  he  continued  the  war 
by  shipping  oil  to  all  centers.  This  meant  that  Playfel 
low,  with  his  huge  organization,  was  under  a  terrible  daily 
expense,  for  his  delivery  wagons  were  in  every  hamlet 
and  his  pipe  lines  extended  in  all  directions.  He  was 
compelled,  by  force  of  circumstances,  to  give  away,  for 
that  is  what  it  amounted  to,  one  hundred  barrels  to  John's 
one. 

Playfellow  hoped  that  a  compromise  could  be  effected, 
so  little  did  the  outlook  satisfy  him,  so  he  sent  Hodges  to 
see  Lurgan,  but  the  banker  would  not  permit  that  gentle 
man  to  enter  his  office.  The  fight  was  therefore  continued 
and  daily  grew  more  severe.  The  four  great  factions  that 


202  The  Mechanic 

controlled  Wall  Street  were  now  merged  into  two,  and 
Neil  Mannering,  who  for  years  had  not  taken  an  active 
part  in  business  affairs,  was  now  managing  all  the  roads 
in  which  he  was  interested.  He  had  lately  taken  a  great 
fancy  to  John,  who  said  to  him  one  day,  "Be  good  and 
order  from  Playfellow  all  the  oil  that  you  can  use  for  a 
year." 

"I  see  you  want  to  add  to  their  losses,"  answered 
Mannering,  and  forthwith  he  telegraphed  instructions  to 
all  his  managers,  and  the  huge  order  that  was  placed  made 
Playfellow  grind  his  teeth  when  he  heard  of  it,  for  he  saw 
the  game  that  had  been  worked.  But  he  was  powerless 
to  stop  it  for  the  contracts  had  been  signed.  Through  his 
agents  he  then  tried  to  place  a  big  order  with  John  for 
the  roads  that  were  with  him,  but  Worth  was  not  to  be 
caught  at  his  own  game.  Playfellow  was  worried  over 
the  attitude  of  some  of  the  wealthy  residents  of  the  West 
End,  more  especially  by  Mannering,  who  was  again  active 
in  railroad  affairs.  This  "  dark  colossus,"  as  he  was 
called,  had  dining  with  him  one  night  a  number  of  men 
who  in  the  past  had  been  satisfied  to  leave  the  management 
of  their  large  railroad  properties  in  the  hands  of  paid 
presidents.  To  these  Mannering,  when  the  coffee,  cigars, 
and  liqueurs  were  on  the  table,  said, 

"  I  have  been  watching  this  fight  over  oil  with  interest. 
If  oil  were  the  only  issue  at  stake,  I  should  remain  a 
spectator,  but  both  Lurgan  and  Playfellow  have  bought 
largely  into  our  roads  and  we  must  now  choose  between 
these  two  men.  In  many  ways  we  are  affiliated  with 
the  banker,  for  he  is  of  New  York  and  belongs  to  an  old 
family,  and,  personally,  I  should  dislike  to  see  him  hurt 
financially.  Of  Playfellow  I  haven't  anything  good  to 
say,  still  he  is  representing  a  powerful  clique  and  he  must 


The  Winning  of  Midland  203 

be  discussed  and  measured  to-night.  Now  I  come  to 
the  man  John  Worth,  and  about  him  I  want  to  say  a 
few  words.  I  learned  a  week  ago  from  Mr.  Low,  the 
manager  of  our  own  bank,  who  makes  it  his  business 
to  know  things,  that  Hodges  was  responsible  for  the 
death  of  Peter  Worth,  and  that  Playfellow  and  Hodges 
instigated  the  murder  of  his  uncle,  David  Worth.  By 
these  facts  we  know  why  John  Worth  dislikes  the  men  he 
is  now  fighting,  and  I  am  thoroughly  convinced  that  he 
will  not  sell  or  combine  with  the  Oil  crowd.  I  may  say 
here  that  I  like  Worth  and  believe  in  him.  You  must 
also  keep  in  mind  that  we  are  using,  free  of  charge,  his 
process  in  our  steel  mill,  and  in  all  the  time  that  we  have 
used  it  he  has  always,  in  the  most  exact  way,  lived  up  to 
the  letter  he  wrote  us  which  gave  permission  to  use  his 
invention.  Since  that  letter  he  has  written  us  but  once 
on  the  subject  of  steel,  and  that  was  to  suggest  that  if 
we  found  his  process  valuable  we  give  the  workmen 
attached  to  the  mill  an  interest  in  its  profits. 

"Mr.  Low  told  me  later  that  a  similar  letter,  worded 
equally  as  apologetically,  if  I  may  use  that  word,  was 
sent  to  the  Independents.  The  mill  managers,  coming 
together,  decided  to  meet  Mr.  Worth's  views  and  a  plan 
was  drawn  up  and  sent  to  him,  but  he  politely  and  pleas 
antly  refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with  the  matter. 
He  again  assured  the  managers  that  his  letter  was  merely 
a  suggestion. 

"All  this  brought  home  to  me  the  fact  that  Worth  is 
not  a  meddler  or  a  socialist,  but  that  he  is  merely  trying 
for  justice  all  around.  Then  he  found  a  way  to  deodorize 
oil  and  the  present  situation  is  the  result;  it  is  to  discuss 
this  situation  that  I  asked  you  to  come  here  to-night." 

Every  one  was  now  listening  attentively,  with  arms  on 


£04  The  Mechanic 

the  table,  and  looking  at  the  man  who  had  married  Helen 
Carpenter  and  afterwards  had  more  than  doubled  her 
large  fortune.  Mannering  was  dark  and  swarthy,  with 
rather  an  ugly  face,  but  fascinating  on  account  of  the 
intellectual  force  that  seemed  to  dominate  his  features. 
It  was  evident  that  he  was  a  very  powerful  man  physically, 
and  they  all  knew  that  he  possessed  great  executive  ability. 
All  those  gathered  about  the  table  loved  the  man,  and 
later  that  evening  they  proved  that  they  would  back  him 
in  any  kind  of  fight. 

"  I  learn,"  he  continued,  "  that  the  Western  have  broken 
their  traffic  agreements;  that  is,  they  run  ghost  trains  in 
order  not  to  waybill  Playfellow's  oil.  They  are  dead 
heading  all  Oil's  employees,  and  in  every  way  possible 
helping  Playfellow  to  overcome  Worth.  But  the  Western 
doesn't  limit  their  assistance  to  their  road,  for  their  banks 
have  been  called  into  requisition  to  supply  Playfellow 
with  money  on  oil  stock  as  collateral.  Of  course  that 
stock  is  worthless  at  this  moment,  and  yet  the  banks  are 
not  worrying,  because  they  are,  as  I  have  stated,  *  Western ' 
concerns." 

"  Now  you  see  the  situation  and  what  do  you  suggest  ?  " 

"  It  was  Percy  Platt  who  cried,  "  Give  us  your  ideas,  old 
man." 

"That's  what  I  say,"  exclaimed  Mannering's  brother- 
in-law,  a  tall,  good-looking  young  fellow  with  curly  hair. 

Bertie,  another  scion  of  the  Carpenter  family,  chirruped : 
"Let  out  a  yard  or  two  more,  Neil." 

Then  Mannering  smilingly  went  on,  "We  have  two 
roads  that  enter  New  York  from  Jersey.  One  runs 
through  a  part  of  Pennsylvania  and  meets  our  main  line 
at  Buffalo.  Now  this  road  is  very  rich  and  possesses  an 
immense  reserve  fund,  so  I  suggest  that  we  build  a  new 


The  Winning  of  Midland  205 

line  from  a  point  west  of  the  Oranges  so  as  to  take  in  all 
the  large  Pennsylvania  cities,  and  that  we  operate  this  by 
electricity.  As  you  may  know,  we  have  the  plans  for 
this  road  now,  and  as  we  are  coming  to  electricity,  I 
bespeak  that  power  for  our  new  venture.  For  the  next 
move  I  call  in  all  our  managers  and  tell  them  about  the 
new  railway,  and  that  with  the  first  sod  turned  over  we 
may  expect  a  fight  with  the  Western,  and  that  we  are  going 
to  carry  the  fight  to  all  points  in  America  as  we  meet  the 
Western  or  its  allies  in  every  one  of  the  large  cities  in  our 
country.  I  don't  think  we  can  afford  to  see  Lurgan 
smashed  by  Playfellow,  who  is  backed  by  a  large  railroad. 
And  if  Lurgan,  Worth,  and  King  are  compelled  to  go  under, 
Oil  will  have  the  country  by  the  throat  again,  not  only  in 
their  own  commodity,  but  in  steel  and  every  other  indus 
trial,  as  they  had  before  John  Worth  came  upon  the  scene. 

"Once  before  Playfellow  made  the  Western  do  his 
bidding,  that  was  when  he  was  aiming  for  control  of  Oil " ; 
and  now  Mannering  and  the  others  stood  up.  "  They  have 
wantonly  destroyed  life,  as  I  can  prove.  Now  I  say,  let's 
give  them  the  cold  steel  and  in  a  short  time  you  will  see 
the  collateral  of  which  I  spoke  dumped  into  the  market, 
for  the  Western,  after  my  orders  go  out,  will  know  that 
they  are  not  now  fighting  three  lone  men,  but  a  corpora 
tion  that  can  buy  and  sell  them.  And  in  fighting  Worth's 
battles,  we  are  also  fighting  our  own.  I  wouldn't  have 
suggested  this  move  had  they  lived  up  to  their  agreements. 
Again,  I  like  Worth's  way  of  making  Independents,  and 
when  I  asked  him  to  visualize  a  success  in  his  present 
fight  he  said,  'More  Independents.'  So  I  say,  let's  throw 
behind  Worth,  Lurgan,  and  King  our  railroads,  as  the 
Western  has  thrown  theirs  to  Playfellow." 

A  shout  of  "  Good,"  was  Neil  Mannering's  answer. 


206  The  Mechanic 

Catherine,  who  was  with  Helen  and  Polly,  heard  the 
great  shout  in  the  dining-room,  and  when  they  were 
called  in  to  drink  a  toast  to  Worth,  with  tears  in  her  eyes 
she  said,  "  I'm  so  glad,  so  very  glad."  And  brightening 
she  cried,  "  How  good  you  all  are ! " 

"  Say,  Mrs.  Worth,  we  couldn't  allow  those  outsiders 
to  run  the  whole  show,"  exclaimed  Bertie,  "we  really 
couldn't."  As  the  others  spoke  in  the  same  tone,  it  would 
have  appeared  to  a  stranger  that  fighting  the  Western 
and  Playfellow  was  as  easy  as  kite-flying  or  dominoes. 

Later  Catherine  said  to  Helen,  "  You  have  helped  John 
and  my  father  greatly,  and  I  shall  remember." 

"  Why,  Catherine,"  answered  Helen,  "  we  must  protect 
our  class.  For  ever  since  the  day  your  husband  fixed 
our  motor-car  I  knew  he  was  a  democrat  and  not  a  snob. 
I  like  him  and  so  does  Neil,  and  as  for  your  grim,  deter 
mined  father,  why  he  used  to  toddle  me  on  his  knee  and 
bring  me  dolls,  then  chocolates,  and  later  he  used  to 
scold.  So  you  see  the  men  folk  had  to  fall  in  line  and 
help;  there  wasn't  anything  else  to  do." 

When  Catherine  told  her  father  what  had  been  decided 
upon,  he  kissed  his  daughter  and  said,  "Good  little  girl; 
I  have  been  trying  for  a  year  to  move  those  people,  and 
now  you,  at  a  stroke,  accomplish  it." 

"  But,  father,  it  was  Helen  —  she  was  so  very  nice  about 
it  all;  and  does  it  mean  so  much?" 

"Why,  dear,  it  means  that  we  won't  at  any  rate  go 
down  alone,  and  we  have  now  a  chance  to  win.  The 
fight  has  been  desperately  one-sided  with  Western  backing 
Playfellow." 

"Is  John  home?" 

"  He  telephoned  that  he  would  be  here  at  twelve." 

"Then  good  night,  father." 


CHAPTER  XIX 

NEIL   MANNERING   TAKES   A    HAND 

LURGAN  went  back  to  his  easy-chair  and  began  figuring 
on  the  news  that  Catherine  had  brought  home.  He  saw 
the  clever  work  of  his  daughter  and  admired  her  greatly, 
but  he  wanted  the  details,  so  in  the  morning  he  called  on 
Mannering.  Afterward  he  saw  King,  and  after  giving 
him  the  news  said,  "Now  is  your  time,  Jim,  for  a  big 
coup  in  the  market.  Mannering  begins  operations  to-day, 
as  the  Western,  by  running  ghost  trains,  has  broken 
traffic  agreements,  and  to-morrow  you  will  see  a  bill  in 
the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania  for  the  new  road,  and 
John's  name  goes  on  for  the  franchise.  This  is  owing 
to  his  immense  popularity  in  Pittsburg  now  and  elsewhere. 
It  is  my  opinion  that  it  will  pass  and  be  immediately 
signed  by  the  Governor.  At  any  rate,  this  move  and  the 
sixteen-hour  train  to  Chicago,  which  goes  on  the  rails 
to-morrow,  will  tell  the  public,  and  the  Western  people 
as  well,  that  there  is  something  up.  So  sell  all  along  their 
line;  give  it  to  them  hot  and  heavy  to-day  or  before  the 
big  break  comes." 

King  smiled  and,  in  his  quiet  way,  began  giving  selling 
orders.  In  half  an  hour  Wall  Street  knew  that  King  was 
making  a  gigantic  raid  on  the  market.  Playfellow,  not 
suspecting  Midland's  move,  bought  heavily  to  protect  the 
market,  and  by  sheer  weight  of  coin  kept  the  stocks  up. 

But  again  the  next  morning  King  was  selling  and  the 

207 


208  The  Mechanic 

stocks  that  he  was  hammering  began  to  decline,  as  all  the 
newspapers  had  the  story  of  the  coming  Worth  franchise 
and  Midland's  first  traffic  move.  When  it  became 
definitely  known  that  Midland  was  behind  Worth  in  the 
new  railroad,  there  was  a  terrible  panic,  and  King  smilingly 
said  to  Lurgan,  "  We  can  keep  the  oil  pot  boiling  on  their 
money  for  another  spell." 

"  Jim,  you  are  magnificent." 

"With  the  information  you  gave  me,  the  game  was 
easy,  so  I  went  in  up  to  our  entire  limit." 

Playfellow  now  pulled  every  wire  he  could  control  to 
keep  Midland  quiet,  and  had  Marvin,  president  of  the 
Western,  who  was  called  "The  Red,"  on  account  of  his 
long  red  beard  and  red  face,  come  to  New  York  by  special 
train.  He  called  at  once  on  the  president  of  the  Midland, 
his  long  nose  looking  like  a  beak,  and  cried  angrily,  "  Do 
you  mean  to  fight?" 

Before  this  he  had  intimidated  the  president  of  the 
Midland  and  thought  to  do  so  again  this  morning,  but  he 
was  answered  in  these  words :  "  Mannering  has  assumed 
charge.  He  is  in  the  next  room  and,  Marvin,  I  suggest 
that  you  alter  your  manner  when  you  meet  him." 

The  president  of  the  Western,  very  hot  and  unpleasant 
looking,  then  strode  into  Mannering's  office  and  shouted, 
"  What  does  this  mean  ?  " 

Mannering  answered  quietly,  "You  have  broken  your 
agreements  in  every  way.  I  have  here  a  list  of  your 
transgressions  " ;  and  passing  over  the  paper  he  continued, 
"Please  tell  me  about  these  items,  Marvin." 

After  reading  the  paper,  Marvin  exclaimed,  "You  are 
not  giving  me  the  truth  in  these  charges." 

Mannering  flushed  slowly  and  said,  "  They  are  all  true, 
as  I  can  prove,  and  you  are  a  liar  if  you  deny  them  again." 


Neil  Mannering  Takes  a  Hand        209 

Pale  with  passion  the  Western's  representative  jumped 
up  and  exclaimed,  "  I  will  make  you  pay  for  that ! " 

"  I  have  heard  of  your  insolence  before  while  under 
this  roof.  Now  I  purpose  forcing  a  polite  president  on 
Western  or  I'll  turn  the  road  inside  out,  and  I  won't  stop 
until  all  your  directors  vote  a  rebate  to  the  John  Worth 
Bank  equaling  the  money  of  which  you  have  robbed 
them  by  these  dirty  tricks  of  yours  to  help  Playfellow. 
Now  go." 

"  Mr.  Mannering,  give  me  a  minute,"  entreated  Marvin, 
in  fear. 

"  Go,  I  say,  or  I'll  throw  you  out." 

The  president  of  the  Western  slunk  out,  feeling  like  a 
whipped  cur,  and  to  him  the  hell  of  it  was  that  he  knew 
Mannering's  written  statement  was  a  true  bill.  But  how 
he  had  gotten  all  those  facts  bothered  Marvin.  He  was 
not  aware  then  that  his  secretary  had  sold  the  items  to 
Harold  Tyndale,  Worth's  lawyer,  for  a  small  fortune,  so 
he  went  to  the  master  of  his  destiny,  Playfellow,  and  told 
of  his  interview. 

"You  have  messed  things,  Marvin,  for  as  I  get  your 
story,  you  told  him  he  was  not  telling  the  truth.  Now 
that  was  hardly  the  way  to  begin  the  conversation." 

"I  was  angry  when  I  saw  that  list  and  consequently 
lost  my  temper.  But  he  called  me  a  liar,  and  I  wouldn't 
stand  for  that." 

"  Oh,  but  you  must  apologize  and  square  things  some 
how,  as  we  can't  fight  the  Midland  over  that  rascal  Worth." 

"What  about  the  rebates,"  cried  Marvin,  "especially 
as  our  directors  don't  know  about  these  items?  I  tell 
you  we  must  fight  long  enough  to  hush  that  matter  up." 

This  was  a  polite  slap  at  Playfellow,  for  if  the  directors 
of  the  Western  should  learn  of  the  crooked  work  it  would 


210  The  Mechanic 

mean  his  immediate  retirement,  and  also  that  of  his 
creature,  Marvin.  So  Playfellow,  for  the  first  time  in  his 
life,  allowed  an  important  matter  to  drift,  and  in  less  than 
a  week  the  biggest  railroad  fight  in  the  country's  history 
was  under  way.  There  could  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  result 
of  this  particular  fight,  because  it  was  well  known  that 
the  Midland  held  a  tremendous  amount  of  money  for 
working  capital  in  its  own  bank  in  New  York.  This  had 
also  been  the  policy  of  the  Western  at  one  time,  but  after 
Playfellow  secured  control  he  had  cut  down  the  road's 
balance  to  bare  necessities,  and  they  were  in  no  condition 
to  keep  up  a  protracted  fight  without  calling  on  the 
stockholders  for  money.  The  Western's  allied  roads 
were  in  no  better  condition  as  to  working  capital  than 
the  Western  itself,  so  the  public  considered  the  Western's 
chances  of  success  to  be  very  small. 

This,  too,  was  the  opinion  of  the  directors  and  large 
stockholders  of  the  Western,  who  were  told  by  Marvin 
that  Midland  was  responsible  for  the  row.  "It  will  be 
all  over  in  a  month  so  we  needn't  worry,"  he  answered. 
"  In  the  meantime  I'll  make  another  cut  in  rates  all  around, 
so  that  they  will  know  that  we  are  not  to  be  bulldozed." 

Marvin  and  Playfellow  thought  that  a  short,  stubborn 
fight  would  bring  the  old  families  who  controlled  Midland 
to  their  knees,  and  that  their  crooked  work  would  be 
covered  up  in  peace  negotiations;  but  they  did  not  know 
Neil  Mannering,  the  aforetime  university  athlete,  known 
to  the  Johnnies  as  the  black  giant  of  Lockyear  College. 

The  business  of  fighting  for  the  great  power  that  he 
once  held  was  now  occupying  all  Playfellow's  thoughts, 
and  as  the  months  dragged  on  he  realized  that  the  end 
meant  bankruptcy  for  some  one.  He  had  a  great  hope 
that  he  could  pull  through,  but  on  the  day  when  hope 


Neil  M annexing  Takes  a  Hand 

was  strong  and  every  indication  pointed  to  success,  a 
short,  broad-shouldered,  strong-faced  man  of  sixty,  who 
had  been  president  of  the  Western  prior  to  Marvin, 
arrived  in  New  York  from  England  and  immediately 
called  on  Mr.  Mannering  at  his  office. 

After  announcing  him,  the  secretary  said,  "Mr.  Man 
nering  will  be  pleased  to  see  you,  sir.  Walk  right  in." 

"  How  do  you  do,  Mr.  Cassman.  I'm  glad  to  see  you ; 
sit  down.  What's  the  news  ?  " 

"Thanks  for  your  courtesy,  Mr.  Mannering.  I  was 
told  that  you  wouldn't  speak  to  a  Western  man." 

"I'm  always  glad  to  see  a  gentleman." 

And,  judging  by  the  happy  smile  that  lit  up  his  face, 
Cassman  was  pleased  with  the  compliment,  for  he  said, 
"  My  story  is  a  short  one,  but  important;  that  is,  important 
to  me.  As  you  know  I  am  a  large  stockholder  in  the 
Western  and  I  wrote  for  particulars  of  this  distressing 
railroad  war.  I  was  told  that  the  fault  was  in  you.  Now 
I  knew  your  father  well,  and  have  known  you  from  a  boy, 
so  I  ask  if  that  statement  is  true." 

Opening  a  drawer  in  his  desk,  Neil  pulled  out  a  package 
of  papers  and  said,  "Look  these  over  carefully  and  you 
will  be  able  to  answer  your  own  question." 

And  when  Cassman  had  done  so  he  exclaimed,  "I 
expected  something  of  this  sort,  so  I  am  not  greatly 
surprised.  But  tell  me,  how  did  you  come  by  Marvin's 
original  orders  and  his  private  account  ?  " 

"They  were  purchased  by  the  John  Worth  Bank  and 
then  handed  to  me.  I  was  told  by  Harold  Tyndale, 
Worth's  lawyer,  that  there  was  no  promise  as  to  secrecy, 
so  I  know  they  came  from  Marvin's  secretary,  who  is 
now  in  Paris.  I  was  also  told  by  Tyndale  that  I  could 
give  these  papers  to  the  press  if  I  wished.  In  other 


The  Mechanic 

words,  the  John  Worth  Bank  doesn't  mind  its  share  in 
this  transaction  seeing  the  light.  I  was  prepared  to  talk 
sensibly  to  Marvin,  but  he  came  in  like  an  enraged  bull, 
so  I  gave  him  the  door  and  you  know  the  rest." 

"  May  I  have  copies  of  these  papers  ?  " 

"You  may  take  the  originals  after  you  initial  copies 
which  I  have." 

"Thank  you,  and  now,  Mr.  Mannering,  I  don't  mind 
telling  you  that  I  was  forced  from  the  presidency  of  the 
Western  by  Playfellow,  who  thought  that  my  betterment 
account  was  too  great.  You  see  I  was  aiming  for  the 
best  road  in  America,  and  this  meant  spending  a  lot  of 
money;  and  as  he  was  then  at  the  zenith  of  his  power  he 
had  no  trouble  influencing  the  other  directors  against  me. 
So  I  resigned.  Now,"  and  Cassman  tapped  the  papers 
Mannering  had  given  him,  "it's  my  turn.  I  propose 
to  call  an  extraordinary  general  meeting  and  I  think  that 
in  a  few  days  we  shall  have  peace." 

"  I  have  a  condition  or  two,  Mr.  Cassman." 

"And  those  are?" 

"Mr.  Marvin  must  leave  the  road,  Playfellow  and 
Hodges  the  directorate,  and  a  settlement  be  made  with 
John  Worth." 

"  The  first  two  I  think  I  can  promise,  but  as  to  Worth 
I  am  not  so  sure;  it's  hard  to  fix  compensation." 

"  I  see  the  difficulty,  but  it  must  be  overcome  before  I 
open  peace  negotiations." 

"Is  he  hard?" 

"As  nails." 

"  Why  are  you  so  much  interested  in  him  ?  " 

"  I  like  his  fight,  and  likewise  the  man,  but  that  is  not 
all.  I  mean  to  crush  rebates.  We  have  never  been  in 
that  business  ourselves,  but  we  have  suffered  from  it.  At 


Neil  Mannering  Takes  a  Hand         213 

any  rate  I  won't  stop  this  war  until  I  am  satisfied  that 
every  one,  rich  or  poor,  hereafter  shall  get  a  fair  show. 
It's  the  Marvins  and  Playfellows  that  are  driving  the 
people  to  think  about  Government  ownership  of  rail 
roads." 

"I  see  your  point;  any  other  condition?" 

"Yes,  all  this,  right  down  to  our  eventual  agreement, 
must  be  made  public.  I  am  sorry  if  you  think  this  need 
lessly  harassing.  I  regard  it  as  imperative,  not  from  the 
point  of  view  of  a  conqueror,  but  to  show  the  public  that 
we  are  having  a  general  house-cleaning,  preparatory  to  a 
clean  business  conducted  on  clean  lines." 

"I  truly  admire  you,  Mr.  Mannering,  and  believe  in 
your  doctrines.  I  never  permitted  a  rebate,  because  I 
saw  not  only  the  unrighteous  side  to  such  transactions, 
but  also  that  rebates  would  eventually  lead  to  a  giant 
amalgamation  which  would  be  a  peril  in  every  way,  so  I 
take  up  that  condition  with  pleasure  and  bid  you  good 
day." 

"  Just  a  moment;  there  is  a  little  matter  that  is  not  my 
affair,  but  I  know  you  will  be  pleased  to  hear  about  it. 
Your  banks  are  holding  Playfellow's  notes  with  rather 
slim  security." 

"That  makes  it  easier  for  me,  and  I'll  look  into  that 
at  once,"  answered  Cassman,  smilingly. 

Cassman  found  all  the  other  large  stockholders  of 
Western  in  a  very  receptive  mood,  and  when  it  was  learned 
that  oil  stock  was  attached  to  Playfellow's  notes,  they 
began  a  searching  inquiry,  and  at  the  general  meeting 
Cassman  was  elected  president. 

Playfellow  and  Hodges,  being  compelled  to  withdraw, 
were  told  that  if  they  did  not  lift  their  notes  at  once  the 
road  would  foreclose  on  their  property.  This  was  a 


214  The  Mechanic 

crushing  blow,  for  Playfellow  hoped  that  if  his  oil  com 
pany  should  be  compelled  to  close  business  he  would  be 
left  with  a  great  amount  of  first-class  securities.  In  order 
to  make  his  notes  good  he  was  compelled  to  disgorge  all 
his  Western  stock,  and  others  as  well.  And  as  all  stocks 
were  far  below  their  normal  value,  and  as  cash  was  quite 
out  of  the  question,  Playfellow  was  forced  practically  to 
empty  his  coffers  to  meet  his  obligations. 


CHAPTER  XX 

OIL   IN   MANY   MARKETS 

WITH  the  adjustment  of  the  railroad  war  Playfellow 
was  left  without  a  shred  of  reputation,  for  his  means  of 
securing  money  and  his  methods  of  warfare  convinced 
even  the  more  narrow  of  religious  folk  that  his  affectation 
of  regarding  the  Bible  as  a  daily  mental  diet  was  but  a 
bid  for  popularity  and  a  cloak  to  hide  his  iniquity.  And 
now,  too,  it  was  rumored  that  the  mighty  money  citadel 
was  weakening,  as  Worth,  through  his  Washington  con 
nections,  made  the  bank  examiners  very  active.  Many 
of  the  Playfellow  loans  were  "called"  and,  moreover, 
these  were  from  banks  which  he  controlled,  so  it  was 
plain  that  he  was  being  driven  into  a  corner.  What 
vexed  him  most  was  the  fact  that  he  could  not  get  at 
the  John  Worth  Bank  through  an  examiner  to  see  if  he 
could  retaliate  against  Lurgan  and  Worth,  for  no  way 
was  found  to  attack  a  strictly  private  concern. 

So  he  raged  at  the  cords  which  began  to  tighten  about 
him,  but  had  he  only  known  that  Lurgan,  King,  and 
Worth  had  about  reached  their  limit,  his  joy  would  have 
been  uncontrollable,  for,  though  seriously  crippled  finan 
cially,  he  still  had  some  bonds  and  a  large  amount  of 
gold  to  his  credit  in  the  Unit  National.  But  he  could  get 
no  positive  information  as  to  their  financial  standing,  and 
began  to  think  of  his  early  career  and  the  means  he  then 
used  to  get  rid  of  persons  who  bothered  him.  He  did 

215 


216  The  Mechanic 

not  dare  think  of  the  assassin  because  such  recollections 
made  him  shiver,  for  he  well  remembered  Worth's  words, 
and  a  mistake  such  as  Pike  had  made  would  mean  his 
own  death. 

And  this  was  also  the  belief  of  Hodges,  only  in  a  more 
marked  degree.  He  felt  that  he  was  ticketed  and  labeled 
for  death  and  spent  many  hours  in  the  gymnasium  where 
he  worked  hard,  for  he  was  still  in  robust  health  and 
well  under  fifty.  But  in  the  evenings,  and  especially  in 
bed  at  night,  he  knew  his  efforts  to  gain  additional  strength 
would  be  of  no  avail,  as  he  fully  realized  that  he  was  not, 
and  never  had  been,  a  match  for  John  Worth,  man  to 
man. 

As  there  was  no  income  from  his  oil  stock,  Hodges  was 
now  living  on  a  salary  and  in  a  small  flat.  He  had  been 
compelled  to  sell  everything  to  meet  the  calls  that  Play 
fellow  made  on  those  who  held  an  interest  in  the  Oil 
company,  and  was  now  getting  his  first  feel  of  a  world 
that  he  did  not  know.  But  he  would  have  willingly 
accepted  privations  if  he  could  have  seen  hope  ahead,  but 
he  did  not  see  that,  he  saw  only  John  Worth.  And  a 
sixth  sense  told  him  that  he  was  to  suffer,  and  this  feeling 
took  such  a  hold  upon  him  that  he  grew  physically  and 
morally  afraid  even  to  meet  Worth  on  the  street.  When 
ever  their  eyes  met  he  read  the  desire  of  the  brute  in 
John,  and  now  he  knew  that  it  was  only  a  question  of 
time  when  he  would  be  compelled  to  look  into  the  face 
of  the  man  whose  father  had  been  killed  by  his  hirelings. 

He  often  thought  of  writing  to  Worth  the  plain,  naked 
truth  of  his  connection  with  that  matter,  and  many  times 
he  began  the  confession;  but  there  was  David.  How 
was  he  going  to  answer  the  question  about  him?  Any 
falsehood  about  that  suggested  fear,  but  reason  said: 


Oil  in  Many  Markets  217 

"He  will  not  be  satisfied  with  assertions,  nor  will  he  be 
satisfied  with  the  story  you  are  going  to  tell  about  his 
father's  death.  He  is  not  one  to  condone  or  forgive." 
Then  the  heart,  pumping  red  blood  for  a  moment,  said, 
"  Fight  him";  but  soon  fear  would  still  that  voice  and  cry, 
"Go  away  with  what  you  have  and  find  some  haven  of 
retreat  in  an  unknown  country."  But  to  this  reason 
would  reply,  "He  will  find  you  while  you  cumber  the 
earth,  and  make  you  pay  for  their  lives  with  yours.  Death 
is  too  fleeting  a  pleasure  for  hate  such  as  his,  so  he  will 
make  you  suffer  and  then  he  will  kill." 

Playfellow,  also,  was  doing  an  unusual  amount  of 
thinking,  but  on  straighter  lines,  as  he  possessed  none  of 
these  small  qualities  which  made  it  hard  for  Hodges  to 
view  with  equanimity  the  morning  of  another  day.  Play 
fellow  was  pondering  fires  and  their  possibilities.  He  had 
already  used  the  midnight  torch  on  bubbling  wells  to 
great  advantage,  and  as  personal  violence  was  barred, 
why  not  do  something  even  more  thorough  than  a  single 
death  ?  Following  his  brave  thoughts,  he  saw  the  Worth 
refineries  destroyed.  "But  they  could  be  built  again," 
cried  caution,  and  to  this  the  brain  of  Playfellow  answered, 
"I  will  also  break  him  at  the  same  time,  and  then  he 
must  come  to  terms,  if  I  do  not  in  the  meantime  get  his 
secret." 

Accordingly  he  said  to  Hodges  one  day,  "We  must 
smash  him  at  once  or  we  will  go  down  before  them.  I 
can't  hold  out  another  six  months;  the  whole  world  seems 
against  me." 

After  these  words  Playfellow  knelt  in  his  office  and 
prayed  eloquently  for  success.  He  cried  to  the  Al 
mighty,  "I  trust  in  You";  and  then  feeling  more 
normal  he  said  to  Hodges,  "From  what  you  have  told 


218  The  Mechanic 

me  from  time  to  time  about  Heenan  and  his  child  I 
gather  that  you  can  at  any  time  take  his  place  in  deliv 
ering  the  midnight  meal." 

Hodges,  not  understanding,  answered,  "Sharp  and  I 
have  been  up  to  the  door  of  the  refinery  many  times  with 
them,  but  it  is  quite  impossible  to  get  in." 

"  You  could  set  fire  to  the  mill,  though  ?  " 

Now  Hodges  saw  the  drift  of  Playfellow's  other  remark 
and  cried,  "  That  would  be  crazy,  for  what  do  we  accom 
plish  by  destroying  the  place  ?  Of  course  you  know  that 
he  can  rebuild  that  wooden  structure,  or  all  of  them,  in 
three  months.  Besides  I  feel  certain  that  they  would 
welcome  a  fire  which  would  give  them  another  excuse  for 
delaying  deliveries." 

"  I  see  that  side,  but  I  want  to  know  definitely  if  you 
can  set  fire  to  the  deodorizing  refinery. " 

"I  can.  As  you  know,  I  have  kept  in  with  Heenan. 
As  we  are  of  a  height,  and  as  it  is  easy  to  assume  lameness; 
his  girl  has  many  times  escorted  me  to  the  mill.  And  I 
have  also  gone  with  both  of  them  and  with  Sharp  as  well. 
It  would  be  only  a  question  of  price,  as  Heenan,  being 
blind  and  lame,  is  desperately  anxious  to  arrange  his 
child's  future." 

"What  is  she  like ?" 

"A  good-looking  blonde  with  rather  a  timid  face,  who 
will  help  all  she  can  because  she  is  anxious  to  get  back 
to  New  York.  But  with  all  her  silliness  she  is  fond  of 
her  father  and  will  do  what  he  says." 

"I  see  the  type!"  exclaimed  Playfellow.  "And  I  can 
see  the  father;  five  thousand  would  do  it,  eh?" 

"Now  you  are  wrong;  the  girl  is  perhaps  a  bit  flighty 
and  wild,  but  the  father  is  very  sane  and  hard.  You 
will  have  to  multiply  your  figure  ten  times  to  get  him." 


Oil  in  Many  Markets  219 

"  But  you  can  get  in  without  him,  so  why  not  pay  him 
after  the  event  ?  " 

"  That  is  so,"  cried  Hodges,  with  gladness.  "  I'll  just 
make  an  ordinary  trip,  eh,  to  see  if  I  can  get  a  look  inside 
of  the  deodorizing  mill?" 

"  Of  course,"  smiled  Playfellow.  "  Tell  me,  what  does 
Sharp  know?" 

"It  was  he  who  discovered  Heenan;  in  fact  he  knew 
him  well  at  one  time.  And  if  it  is  agreeable  to  you,  I'll 
take  him  with  me,  as  there  are  a  few  things  to  think 
about  in  getting  out  and  he  may  prove  useful."  Sur 
mising  that  the  work  which  Playfellow  had  suggested  was 
to  be  done  at  once,  in  order  to  show  why  he  wanted 
assistance,  he  continued,  "  The  Worth  property,  or  Amer 
ican  oil  as  they  call  it,  contains  about  sixty  acres  and  has 
only  two  exits,  one  by  water  and  the  other  by  land.  The 
water  exit  is  closed  at  night  and,  as  you  have  read,  the 
whole  property  is  surrounded  by  a  canal  and  conse 
quently  is  isolated  from  the  rest  of  the  meadows.  On 
the  outside  bank  of  the  canal  there  is  a  high,  strong, 
electrically  charged  wire  fence,  so  it's  impossible  to  get 
to  the  refineries  except  by  one  of  the  roads  I  have  men 
tioned;  and  each  refinery  inside  of  this  circle  is  isolated 
from  the  others  by  waterways. 

"In  other  words,  the  most  extraordinary  precautions 
have  been  taken  against  the  weapon  which  you  have 
named,  and  in  their  precautions  they  have,  as  well,  built 
up  their  system  of  handling  goods  with  the  least  possible 
labor,  as  canals  large  enough  for  barges  run  to  each 
refinery.  Now  the  particular  refinery  that  we  want  to 
burn  is  at  the  extreme  end  of  this  property,  or  near  the 
water  entrance.  Consequently  I  must  find  my  way  over 
considerable  distance  before  I  can  get  out,  as,  of  course, 


220  The  Mechanic 

I  must  get  to  the  road  entrance  as  quickly  as  possible. 
Otherwise  I  am  in  danger,  not  only  from  the  fire  but 
from  the  men  who  work  at  night,  and  they  total  quite  a 
number. 

"  There  are  others  who  live  at '  The  Pipe,'  or  the  only 
place  where  the  workmen  are  permitted  to  smoke,  and 
this  building,  a  big  one,  is  pretty  well  filled  all  the  time. 
I  tell  you  this  because  I  must  pass  it  on  my  way  out,  and 
I  leave  you  to  imagine  what  they  will  do  if  I  am  caught." 
"  What  protection  have  they  against  fire  ?  " 
"  Only  great  care,  as,  of  course,  nothing  can  stop  an  oil 
fire." 

"  How  does  Heenan  get  through  the  gate  ?  " 
"He  is  the  gate  man  and  that  explains  why  it  is  so 
easy  for  me  to  enter.  And  now  here  is  where  Sharp  and 
one  or  two  others  will  be  useful,  as  I  may  be  stopped  at 
this  point  on  my  way  out,  for  beyond  this  gate,  on  the  high 
ground,  nearly  all  the  people  who  work  in  the  different 
refineries  live.  You  must  remember  that  long  before  I 
reach  the  gate  the  fire  will  be  known  and  the  alarm  given, 
and  the  men  and  women  outside  will  flock  to  the  gate. 
I,  of  course,  expect  to  reach  the  gate  before  those  who 
are  outside  do,  but  I  shall  be  one  of  the  last  to  get  there 
from  the  inside.  In  running  I  may  be  noticed,  not  by 
the  limp  to  which  I  will  adhere,  but  I  shall  be  going 
entirely  too  straight  for  a  blind  man.  If  Sharp  is  with 
me,  crying,  '  Fire  —  fire,'  it  will  help,  and  if  some  one  is 
outside  with  an  automobile  near  by,  we  ought  to  pull 
through  all  right,  especially  if  I  have  Sharp  to  help." 

Playfellow,  in  his  mind's  eye,  saw  the  fire  and  was 
thinking  that  on  the  eventful  night  he  would  secure  a 
good  coign  of  vantage  from  which  to  enjoy  it,  and  this 
thought  held  him  to  silence,  for  he  liked  the  picture  that 


Oil  in  Many  Markets 

he  conjured  up.  But  the  active  agent  was  anxious  to  get 
things  settled,  so  he  broke  the  silence  by  asking,  "  When 
do  we  make  the  blaze  ?  I'm  ready  any  time." 

With  a  start  Playfellow  awoke  from  his  sweet  dream. 

"  I,  of  course,  see  with  you  the  uselessness  of  this  fire  as 
such,  so  here  is  the  rest  of  my  scheme,"  answered  the 
elder  man,  rubbing  his  bald  head.  "  For  profound  secrecy, 
and  for  what  I  want  done  intelligently,  you  must  start  for 
England  immediately  "  (Hodges  blushed  with  pleasure  at 
the  first  great  compliment  Playfellow  had  ever  paid  him), 
"and  give  my  instructions  to  Marsh,  our  London  agent. 
And  here  they  are.  He  is  to  proceed  at  once  to  Italy  and, 
through  a  bank,  order  five  hundred  thousand  barrels  of 
deodorized  oil  from  Worth.  Pay  any  price  that  is  asked, 
and,  if  necessary,  arrange  for  payments  to  Worth  in  New 
York.  Then  he  must  go  to  Austria,  Germany,  France, 
and  then  home  to  England,  and  in  these  countries  arrange 
as  outlined  for  Italy.  But  if  the  Italian  order  is  accepted 
he  must  place  a  bigger  one  for  Austria,  and  if  that  goes 
through,  a  larger  one  for  France,  and  then  something 
colossal  for  England. 

"  In  each  country  a  blind  company  ought  to  be  organized, 
to  make  it  appear  that  an  active  fight  is  going  to  be  con 
ducted  against  us,  and  an  item  to  this  effect  given  to  the 
Associated  Press.  Do  you  understand  so  far?" 

"Perfectly";  and,  smiling,  Hodges  added,  "I  see  hope 
ahead." 

"Now,"  said  Playfellow,  "comes  the  important  item. 
Contract  only  for  deodorized  oil  to  be  delivered  in  three 
months.  Put  a  penalty  clause  equal  to  the  price  we  pay, 
for  failure  to  deliver  that  which  is  called  for  in  the  contract 
—  deodorized  oil.  In  order  to  get  this  clause  in  as  strong 
as  you  can  word  it,  tell  Marsh  to  pay  the  price  asked  and, 


222  The  Mechanic 

after  the  Italian  contract  is  signed,  to  use  the  cable  only. 
He  is  to  get  the  banks  he  uses  to  do  all  their  work  with 
their  correspondents  in  New  York  by  cable,  and  I  will 
arrange  his  credit  with  the  Bank  of  England  to  cover  all 
these  purchases.  I  want  all  the  contracts  you  make  to 
fall  due  about  the  same  time.  After  you  are  sure  that 
Marsh  understands  thoroughly  what  is  required  of  him, 
come  home  for  the  conflagration." 

Hodges,  jumping  up  from  his  chair,  cried,  "You  are 
still  the  greatest  man  living." 

,  "  Glad  you  like  the  idea,"  replied  Playfellow,  happily. 
"  I  want  you,  of  course,  to  go  to  Italy  with  Marsh,  so  as  to 
advise  him  properly  on  the  first  contract,  which  will  be,  no 
doubt,  the  basis  for  the  others.  The  Worth  Company 
are  poor  and  will  bite  at  these  rich  offers,  and  then  we  have 
them." 

Playfellow  laughed  at  the  prospect  and  walked  up  and 
down  the  room,  his  tall  form  quaking  with  suppressed  joy. 

On  Saturday  Thomas  Hodges  sailed  for  England,  and 
in  two  weeks  he  was  in  Italy  with  Marsh,  arranging  the 
details  for  a  company.  A  bank  was  approached  and  in 
due  course  a  letter  was  sent  to  John  Worth,  and  this 
reached  Harold  Tyndale,  who  was  much  amazed  at  the 
extent  of  the  order.  Never  before  had  they  received  a 
request  for  so  many  barrels,  and  Tyndale,  being  a  careful 
man,  read  again  the  letter,  which  was  written  in  English, 
but  paused  at  the  clause,  "If  our  experts  pass  the  oil  as 
deodorized  we  shall  cable  the  money  to  New  York." 
These  words,  "our  experts,"  struck  him  as  odd  and 
made  him  study  the  letter  word  for  word.  In  re-reading 
it  through  he  detected  an  eagerness  which  puzzled  him, 
but  the  last  paragraph  was  to  the  point,  as  they  had 
requested  an  answer  by  cable,  as  on  an  acceptance  they 


Oil  in  Many  Markets 

would  request  their  correspondents  in  New  York  to  call 
and  make  the  contract. 

So  Tyndale  wired,  raising  the  regular  European  price 
twenty-five  cents  per  barrel  and  stipulating  that  an  expert, 
chosen  by  both,  was  to  go  with  oil  from  America,  and  if 
their  bank  were  found  to  be  satisfactory  the  Worth  Com 
pany  would  agree  to  deliver  the  oil  in  fourteen  weeks  at 
Genoa.  The  following  afternoon  a  man  from  Wall  Street 
called,  and  in  two  days  a  contract,  drawn  up  by  Tyndale, 
was  signed.  When  Willie  Radley  received  all  the  papers 
he  found  also  an  agreement  with  a  steamship  company 
carrying  the  delay  penalties  of  the  Italian  Bank,  providing 
the  oil  in  barrels  was  docked  at  New  York  in  ten  weeks. 
Willie  then  sent  an  order  to  the  works  in  the  meadows, 
and  as  John  had  heard  of  the  large  shipment  he  prepared 
for  its  fulfilment. 

Within  a  week  Tyndale  had  closed  a  German  contract 
for  one  million  barrels  at  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per 
barrel,  and  then  the  French  order  came  in,  and  on  its 
heels  a  huge  one  from  England.  John  was  called  in  to 
look  at  these.  Tyndale  interrupted  his  thoughts  suffi 
ciently  to  say,  "  Odd,  isn't  it  ?  They  take  the  experts  we 
name,  and  the  manager  of  the  Midland  Bank  says  that 
the  Bank  of  England  guarantees  payment  on  the  lot. 
As  I  have  told  you  before,  Hodges  was  in  Europe.  He 
is  now  on  his  way  home." 

"As  everything  is  in  order,  sign,"  replied  John;  and 
then  he  went  to  his  room  and  by  long-distance  telephone 
called  up  his  Lake  Superior  manager,  saying,  "  I  am  leaving 
for  the  mill  to-night.  Put  full  force  on;  four  six-hour 
shifts."  And  then  he  called  up  every  barrel  mill  in  the 
country  and  by  night  had  contracted  for  several  million 
barrels. 


The  Mechanic 

That  evening  he  left  by  special  train  for  Lake  Superior 
and  shipped  from  there  five  hundred  barrels  of  water  to 
his  own  oil  wells.  After  finding  out  definitely  what  this 
factory  could  do  he  stopped  at  other  points  where  he  was 
having  barrels  made.  Coming  back  to  New  York  he 
said  to  Tyndale,  "  I  have  the  barrels  all  right  and  I  find 
letters  from  Texas  confirming  their  wires  as  to  oil,  so 
you  can  begin  arranging  dates  for  the  shipping  companies 
you  have  contracted  with,  as  we  shall  be  able  to  keep  the 
schedule  upon  which  they  have  insisted." 

John  went  home  exhausted,  for  his  days  and  nights 
had  been  spent  under  a  terrible  strain  and,  knowing  well 
the  ways  of  Playfellow  and  Hodges,  he  was  certain  that 
some  coup  was  pending.  But  he  made  no  move  other 
than  to  see  if  all  refineries  were  following  closely  his 
instructions  as  to  escape  in  case  of  fire.  When  satisfied 
on  this  point  he  smiled  grimly  and  awaited  developments, 
feeling  sure  that  their  scheme  would  come  to  a  head 
when  his  yards  were  choked  with  oil.  He  was  under  the 
impression  that  the  time  of  his  return  from  his  own  oil 
wells,  for  which  he  intended  to  leave  the  next  day,  would 
see  something  that  would  add  zest  to  life. 

But  John  had  not  figured  well  the  activity  of  Play 
fellow,  who  said  to  Hodges  immediately  after  John's 
return,  "  Can  you  do  it  to-night  ?  " 

"The  sooner  the  better  for  me,"  answered  Hodges, 
feverishly. 

Keen-eyed  Playfellow  saw  that  Hodges  was  bolstering 
his  nerves  by  strong  drink,  but  he  said  nothing  about  the 
ill  effects  of  alcohol,  which  he  had  so  often  related  to  young 
men,  for  he  well  knew  that  the  more  sense  was  deadened 
the  better  the  job  would  be  done.  After  walking  up  and 
down  the  floor  he  said  to  Hodges,  "If  you  pull  this  off 


Oil  in  Many  Markets 

to-night,  Tom,  I'll  allow  you  fifty  thousand  a  year  to  live 
on,  and  hand  you  back  your  stock  as  well." 

Hodges,  shaking  with  pleasure  at  being  called  by  his 
first  name,  as  well  as  on  account  of  the  magnificent  offer, 
for  he  was  now  wholly  at  the  mercy  of  Playfellow  for 
living  wage,  cried,  "  I'll  do  it !  and  listen  —  Heenan  and 
his  daughter  will  remain  behind ! "  And  with  those  words 
Hodges  moved  his  face  into  a  leer  at  which  the  seams 
stood  out,  giving  him  a  diabolical  appearance. 

"  That's  the  idea,"  chortled  Playfellow,  "  dead  people 
don't  peach!  Muffled  up  so  that  I  can't  be  recognized, 
I'll  go  to  the  palisades  in  Jersey  and  watch  the  fire. 
It  will  fill  me  with  deep  joy,  and  with  the  first  fork  of 
light  on  my  knees  I  shall  give  thanks  to  God." 


CHAPTER  XXI 

FLAMES    OF   YELLOW   GOLD 

WHEN  the  two  conspirators  parted,  Hodges  went 
directly  to  Sharp's  room,  where  that  worthy  saluted  him 
with,  "  Hello,  Tom,  how  are  we  ?  "  And  this  familiarity 
brought  home  to  Hodges  how  far  he  had  fallen;  but  he 
was  too  politic  to  take  offense  and  at  once  proceeded  to 
outline  the  work  for  the  night. 

"Let  me  say  first  that  I'm  game,"  asserted  Bill,  "for 
I  well  see  that  something  out  of  the  ordinary  must  be 
done  to  wind  up  the  Worth  crowd.  But  it's  a  desperate 
undertaking  and  I  only  go  to  save  my  stock  and  my 
business." 

With  a  note  of  anxiety  in  his  voice  Hodges  cried,  "  Why 
is  it  desperate,  Bill  ?  I  see  the  danger,  of  course,  but  not 
the  extreme  risk  that  you  intimate." 

"We  have  to  make  a  good  half  mile  to  the  gate  and 
there'll  be  a  light  such  as  never  existed  before,  thrown 
on  our  every  move  long  before  we  reach  safety." 

"  I  admit  that,  too,  but  there  will  be  many  others  running 
with  us." 

"That's  sure,  but—" 

"  Not  afraid  are  you,  Bill  ?  "  interrupted  Hodges. 

"Yes,  I  am;  but  as  I  said  before,  I'll  do  it." 

"I  suppose  Heenan  and  the  girl  are  to  be  trusted," 
remarked  Hodges. 

"  No  trouble  there,"  replied  Bill,  "  as  the  girl  wants  to 
go  on  the  stage  and  our  money  has  been  educating  her." 

226 


Flames  of  Yellow  Gold  2Z7 

"Why  does  Worth  keep  them?" 

"  Heenan  was  a  mechanic  at  one  time,  but  it  galls  him 
to  live  on  charity,  for  that  is  what  his  position  amounts  to. 
And  naturally  he  hates  the  man  who's  kind  to  him." 

"Let  us  meet  in  Newark  at  eleven  at  the  old  rendez 
vous." 

Bill  nodded  his  willingness,  and  at  a  little  before  twelve, 
having  concealed  their  automobile  in  some  bushes  close 
to  the  entrance  of  Worth's  property,  they  walked  to  the 
gate-house.  Bill,  dressed  in  old  clothes,  asked  for 
Heenan,  and  when  he  came  out  into  the  night,  Bill  said, 
"  My  partner  wants  to  try  again."  And  as  that  heretofore 
had  meant  one  hundred  dollars  to  Heenan,  he  answered, 
"All  right,  wait  until  I  get  Lizzy."  In  a  few  moments 
all  four  were  walking  toward  the  big  mill,  and  when  they 
were  close  to  it,  Lizzy  went  forward  to  the  door  and 
rapped,  a  pleasant  smile  on  her  face.  This  was  because 
Walter  Peace,  the  head  electrician,  had  frequently  of  late 
made  love  to  her,  and  it  was  her  custom  to  stop  and  talk 
to  him  until  her  father  called. 

Their  conversation  was  carried  on  through  a  sliding 
door  about  a  foot  square,  and  this  small  aperture  did  not 
look  directly  into  the  mill  but  on  another  door  which, 
when  it  was  not  locked,  was  kept  closed  by  strong  springs. 
The  hole  was  too  small  to  permit  the  man  inside  to 
see  anything  but  what  was  directly  in  front  of  him, 
which  was  the  vaseline  factory.  Peace,  consequently, 
did  not  see  the  others,  and  Hodges  kept  the  old  man 
talking  at  the  corner  of  the  mill  until  Bill  ran  up,  saying, 
"Let  us  hurry."  This  meant  that  he  had  started  a  fire 
where  the  barrels  were  hoisted  by  wire  ropes  over  the 
canal  to  the  receiving  door  located  high  above  the  ground, 
for  considerable  oil  was  splashed  down  the  sides  of  the 


The  Mechanic 

building  at  this  point.  It  was  washed  clean  every  week 
by  Playfellow's  kerosene  so  that  the  smell  would  be  de 
tected  in  the  air.  As  this  oil  arrived  in  Worth's  own 
barrels  and  in  carloads,  no  one  suspected  but  that  it  was 
oil  to  be  deodorized.  This  part  of  the  building  was 
soaking  with  inflammable  material,  and  Sharp  had  no 
difficulty  in  igniting  it.  His  hope  was  that  all  would  get 
well  on  their  way  out  before  the  fire  was  discovered. 

But  Hodges  had  different  plans.  As  he  was  strong  and 
burly  and  afraid  only  of  one  man,  and  that  man  was  not 
present,  after  Heenan  had  called  to  his  daughter,  he 
promptly  knocked  him  down  with  a  stout  stick  which  he 
carried.  Then  he  rushed  for  Lizzy,  who  was  standing 
inert,  spellbound  at  his  action.  But  just  before  the  blow 
on  her  head  choked  off  all  utterance,  she  screamed, 
"Walter,"  and  the  cry,  though  stifled,  was  loud  enough 
to  reach  her  lover's  ears  just  as  he  was  about  to  close  the 
second  door. 

He  ran  to  the  sliding  door  but  could  see  nothing,  so 
began  to  undo  the  bolts;  then  he  thought  he  heard  a 
slight  roar  and  the  crackling  of  wood.  Opening  the 
door  he  ran  to  the  corner  nearest  the  canal,  and  there  he 
saw  a  sheet  of  flame  spreading  over  the  whole  side  of  the 
building.  In  a  moment  he  realized  that  nothing  could 
be  done  to  save  the  building,  so  he  rushed  back  to  the 
door  and,  entering  quickly,  in  a  hoarse  voice  screamed, 
"Fire  —  fire!  Hurry,  hurry!"  Then  remembering 
Worth's  instructions,  he  pulled  down  hard  a  lever  which 
rang  a  bell  in  all  the  factories,  and  in  Worth's  house, 
four  miles  away.  As  his  companions  were  rushing  out, 
he  followed,  and  in  making  for  the  main  road  at  a  run  he 
stumbled  over  a  body  on  the  ground  which  he  recognized 
as  that  of  Lizzy.  Promptly  picking  her  up,  by  the  fierce 


Flames  of  Yellow  Gold  229 

light  he  saw  that  she  was  apparently  dead.  He  rained 
kisses  upon  her  face  as  he  called  wildly,  "  Lizzy,  Lizzy ! " 
but  no  answer  came.  Driven  on  by  the  heat,  he  started  up 
the  long  road  with  the  girl  in  his  arms.  He  was  a  strong, 
bull-necked  young  fellow  and  for  a  time  managed  fairly 
well,  but  soon  the  weight  began  to  tell  and  he  had  to  stop 
and  rest  for  a  few  seconds.  Then  he  would  make  another 
hundred  yards  and  rest  again.  At  this  third  halt  he  felt 
that  he  was  walking  in  an  oven  and  soon  he  would  have 
to  give  up  —  not  the  girl,  for  Peace  was  not  built  upon 
those  lines.  He  was  only  a  plain  mechanic,  proud  and 
forceful  like  his  class,  and  with  unbounded  courage,  and 
he  loved  this  girl,  so  he  struggled,  hoping  to  reach  the 
main  street  where  he  could  be  seen  from  the  hill. 

Had  she  been  a  stranger  he  probably  would  have  left 
her  to  be  licked  up  by  the  flames,  but  his  love  made  him 
strong  and,  crushing  her  to  him,  he  kissed  her  again  and 
hoarsely  gasped,  "  We  die  together,  Lizzy,  but  not  yet  — 
not  yet."  So  he  pressed  on,  ever  on,  hoping  to  reach  the 
long,  wide  street  that  ran  directly  through  the  property 
from  the  gate.  But  he  was  reeling  now  and  felt  that  he 
was  being  actually  baked.  Glancing  back  he  saw  a  hell 
on  earth,  as  now  the  other  mills  had  caught  fire,  but  he 
struggled  on,  grim  and  determined.  Rounding  a  corner, 
he  sighted  the  great  crowd  on  the  hill  watching  the 
flames,  but  he  realized  by  the  suffocating  heat  and  the 
awful  roar  so  close  upon  him  that  man  could  not  succor 
him.  He  felt  his  mind  giving  way;  still  he  gritted  his  teeth 
and  stumbled  on  a  yard  or  two.  At  last  he  reeled  and 
fell  to  the  earth. 

The  dreaded  fire  alarm  had  brought  out  every  employee 
of  the  oil  works,  and  its  clanging  noise  spurred  Hodges  and 
Sharp  to  run  as  fast  as  they  could,  but  they  were  not  the 


230  The  Mechanic 

first  ones  at  the  gate,  for  when  they  reached  the  opening 
it  was  jammed  by  those  who  lived  on  the  hill  close  by, 
seeking  to  be  of  assistance.  In  the  melee  Hodges  lost 
his  soft  hat  and,  as  he  was  a  well-known  character,  and 
very  tall,  he  was  observed  by  many  who  at  first  thought 
that  he  must  be  merely  a  passing  stranger.  If  he  had 
kept  his  nerve  he  would,  perhaps,  have  gotten  through 
the  mass  of  people  without  being  recognized,  but  unfor 
tunately  for  himself  he  put  his  hand  before  his  face  to 
hide  it,  and  this  was  a  fatal  move,  for  a  man  close  to 
him  said,  "Why  do  you  hide  your  face?"  Then  the 
hand  was  roughly  pulled  down  and  the  same  man, 
turning  to  the  crowd  said,  "Fellows,  who  is  this?" 

"  Why,  it  looks  like  Hodges,"  one  cried,  and  then  Strong 
Tom  and  Bill  tried  by  bull  strength  to  force  their  way 
out.  But  they  were  soon  overpowered  and  the  crowd, 
fiercely  angry  now,  wanted  to  trample  out  Hodges'  life. 
When  Sharp  saw  what  was  intended,  he  cried  to  his 
captors,  who  were  beginning  to  handle  him  roughly,  "  I 
am  a  relation  of  Heenan's  and  when  he  comes  he  will 
tell  you  so." 

Bill  felt  satisfied  that  he  would  never  be  called  a  liar 
by  Heenan,  and  as  his  excuse  seemed  to  work  well,  he 
used  strong  language  in  proving  his  statement  and  con 
sequently  he  was  not  molested.  The  Worth  people  knew 
all  about  Hodges  and  his  career,  and  were  familiar 
with  the  David  Worth  story,  so  they  cried,  "Let's  burn 
him";  and  that  idea  seemed  to  please  the  crowd,  but  the 
superintendent  cried  aloud,  "Say,  fellows,  Worth  will  be 
here  soon.  He  is  home  to-night,  so  wait  until  he  comes." 

As  John's  name  carried  a  great  deal  of  weight  with  the 
workmen,  they  took  Hodges  and  Sharp  up  the  hill  to 
await  Worth's  coming. 


Flames  of  Yellow  Gold  231 

John  had  overworked  and  could  not  sleep,  so  at  twelve 
he  partly  dressed  and  went  downstairs  to  look  over  some 
important  papers,  thinking  that  a  little  work  might  make 
him  sleepy.  He  had  only  just  comfortably  settled  him 
self  in  his  chair  when  he  was  startled  by  the  fire-bell. 
Jumping  up,  he  rushed  to  his  automobile  and  in  a  marvel- 
ously  short  time  was  going  at  full  speed  toward  the 
meadows.  He  reached  the  gate  in  a  few  minutes,  and 
was  getting  out  when  he  heard  a  great  moan  from  the 
crowd.  Looking  down  he  saw  a  figure,  carrying  another, 
fall  in  the  street  of  fire.  Shouting,  "  Clear  the  way,"  he 
started  at  full  speed  his  slowing  engines,  and  soon  he  had 
the  two  senseless  forms  in  his  car.  Then  reversing 
his  lever,  he  was  quickly  out  of  the  parching  heat  into  the 
cool  of  the  hill.  A  great  shout  welcomed  the  chauffeur 
from  his  desperate  dash  into  the  street  of  fire. 

An  old  gray-haired  mechanic,  with  tears  running  down 
his  face,  cried,  "  Like  his  father  to-night.  Aye,  much  like 
big,  swarthy  Peter.  And  I  knew  the  goliath  David,  too. 
I  tell  you  boys,  it's  in  the  blood.  You  just  can't  scare 
'em."  " 

John  had  jumped  from  his  automobile  after  rescuing 
Peace  and  Lizzy;  and  was  now  looking  at  Hodges  and 
Bill  Sharp,  who  were  bound  in  cords.  After  a  moment 
he  said  to  the  cursing,  maddened  crowd,  "  Who  captured 
these  men  ?  " 

A  shout  of  "We  did,"  was  his  answer,  and  Worth 
smiled  as  he  bent  down  and  said  to  Hodges  in  a  honeyed 
voice,  "  One  fire  too  many ! " 

"  How  are  your  patients  ?  "  John  asked  of  the  doctor. 

"Peace  is  coming  around,  but  Lizzy  is  still  insensible. 
The  blow  was  a  nasty  one." 

"Blow?    She  was  hit  then?" 


The  Mechanic 

"Her  whole  scalp  is  cut  open,  and  if  it  wasn't  for  her 
thick  hair  she  would  be  dead.'* 

"Anybody  else  hurt?" 

"Not  that  I'm  aware  of." 

His  plucky  ride  into  the  sea  of  flame  did  not  lessen 
John's  popularity  with  the  hands,  who  were  correspond 
ingly  enraged  against  the  two  men  whom  they  held  responsi 
ble  for  the  disaster,  for  all  were  now  certain  how  the  fire  had 
started.  So  while  the  flames  raged  from  refinery  to  refin 
ery  they  stood  in  sullen  determination  about  the  house 
where  Hodges  and  Sharp  were  tied. 

After  some  time  had  passed,  they  saw  Lizzy  Heenan 
being  carried  into  the  house.  Here,  after  she  had  been 
placed  in  a  chair,  she  said  to  John  in  a  weak  voice,  "  My 
father  took  both  Mr.  Hodges  and  Mr.  Sharp  into  the 
works  as  he  had  done  many  times  before.  Each  time  they 
gave  him  one  hundred  dollars.  I  guess  they  hoped 
to  get  a  look  inside  of  the  refinery  where  the  oil  is  changed. 
He  did  not  know,  nor  did  I,  what  they  were  going  to  do 
to-night.  I  saw  Mr.  Hodges  strike  father  down  with  a 
club,  afterwards  he  struck  me  on  the  head,  and  I  can't 
remember  any  more."  After  a  pause  she  went  on,  "  Oh, 
God  is  punishing  me!"  Quickly  falling  on  her  knees, 
she  cried,  "  Oh,  Mr.  Worth,  forgive  me,  won't  you  ? " 

And  John,  picking  her  up,  said,  "Don't  worry,  child;  I 
forgive  you  freely,  and  will  look  after  you  hereafter." 

The  girl  sobbed  in  the  strong  arms  of  Worth,  and  a 
man  inside,  who  had  heard  what  the  girl  said,  told  those 
outside.  Then  some  oil  was  sent  for,  and  the  snarl  of 
the  men,  like  that  of  enraged  animals,  reached  the  ears  of 
Hodges,  who  shivered  from  his  heart,  while  Sharp  turned 
pale  as  death. 

The  superintendent  said  to  John,  "  This  man,"  pointing 


Flames  of  Yellow  Gold  233 

to  Sharp,  "says  he  and  Heenan  were  cousins.  Ask  the 
girl."  Lizzy,  who  heard  the  assertion,  cried,  "  He  told 
a  lie,  thinking  we  were  both  dead."  Then  John  carried 
Lizzy  out  and  said,  "Who  will  take  this  girl  to  my 
home?" 

And  Peace,  now  fairly  recovered,  answered,  "I'll  look 
after  her,  Mr.  Worth." 

Then  a  voice  exclaimed,  "  Make  way  for  Mrs.  Worth," 
and  Catherine  and  her  father  met  John,  who  was  still 
holding  Lizzy.  Catherine  said,  "Send  her  home  with 
Tony.  The  servants  are  all  up,  and  the  house  is  ready 
to  take  care  of  the  wounded.  How  terrible  the  fire  is! 
But  are  you  hurt,  John?  Your  hair  seems  singed  and 
your  face  blistered." 

"  I'm  all  right,  and  glad  to  say  that  every  one  is  here 
except  the  old  gatekeeper."  But  John  was  wrong,  as  he 
was  to  find  out  later  that  three  others  had  perished  in 
the  fire. 

Lurgan  passed  inside  and  saw  Hodges  tied  to  a  table 
and  Sharp  to  a  chair.  John,  calling  him  to  one  side, 
said,  "  Get  Catherine  home  as  soon  as  you  can.  There 
is  going  to  be  trouble  here  soon,  but  don't  tell  her  that  or 
she  won't  go." 

"  I  think,"  said  Lurgan,  looking  at  Hodges  and  Sharp, 
"  that  I  see  the  trouble,  so  I'll  take  her.  But  is  every 
thing  gone  ?  " 

"Yes;  all  the  buildings  and  their  contents." 

And  Lurgan,  calling  Catherine,  said,  "Let's  go  home 
and  look  after  that  girl.  There  is  no  one  else  that  requires 
attention." 

"  Are  you  sure,  father  ?  " 

"  Quite  sure,  dear,  and  besides  we  should  only  hamper 
John  by  remaining." 


234  The  Mechanic 

"Oh,  father,  did  you  notice  how  strong  he  looked, 
standing  among  his  men  ?  His  firm  head,  his  fine  shoul 
ders  and  height,  and  the  details  of  dress,  seem  to  throw 
his  figure  out.  I  always  shall  see  the  burnt  shirt  and 
blistered  skin,  for  they  made  me  realize  the  superintend 
ent's  thrilling  story  of  his  ride  into  the  white  heat  to 
save  two  of  his  people." 

But  the  old  man  remained  silent,  for  he  saw  beyond  the 
fire  and  the  prospect  made  him  sad.  Catherine,  noting 
the  silence,  exclaimed,  "What  is  it,  father?" 

"Ruin!  For  now  we  can't  fill  those  large  European 
orders." 

Catherine  put  her  arm  about  her  father  and  said,  "  Let 
us  put  our  trust  in  God,"  and  they  walked  to  their  con 
veyance. 

Looking  back,  Catherine  saw  as  if  at  noonday  the 
great  crowd  about  the  house  that  held  her  husband,  and 
she  asked  her  father  what  they  were  doing.  She  had  not 
gone  into  the  house  and  had  not  seen  Hodges.  "Oh, 
father!  Listen!  They  are  calling  the  roll." 

"Yes,  dear,  to  see  if  any  are  missing;  but  let  us  hurry, 
as  that  little  girl  will  need  you." 

In  front  of  the  house  a  timekeeper  had  mounted  a  rude 
platform  and  had  begun  calling  the  names  of  those  on 
the  pay  sheets.  Inside,  sitting  around  a  table,  were  John, 
the  superintendent,  and  the  foremen  of  the  different  mills. 
And  when  the  timekeeper  began  to  call  the  night  watch, 
John  said  to  those  who  were  standing  by,  "Unloose  the 
roped  men."  The  criminals  were  made  to  sit  in  a  corner 
of  the  room  by  themselves,  while  outside  the  timekeeper 
called  loudly  the  names  from  his  tally  sheets.  He  was 
stopped  by  a  wail  at  the  names  of  Tobsenello,  and  he 
cried  again,  "  Robert  and  Chid  Tobsenello."  There  was 


Flames  of  Yellow  Gold  235 

now  a  cry  as  from  a  lost  soul.  "  My  boys  —  my  boys !  I 
must  see  the  master." 

The  crowd  made  way  for  the  frenzied  woman.  She 
fell  upon  her  knees  and  cried  in  wailing  tones,  "  Master  — 
master  —  my  boys  —  my  boys !  They  were  at  *  The 
Pipe.' "  Seeing  Sharp,  she  jumped  to  her  feet,  her  dark 
eyes  flashing  fire,  and  screamed,  "  There's  the  hell-hound 
who  bought  my  father  to  murder  yours,  John  Worth." 

Sharp  sank  into  his  chair,  a  gleam  of  hatred  in  his 
eyes,  and  said  insolently,  "  You're  raving ! " 

The  woman  was  going  to  speak,  but  John  interrupted 
her.  "Not  now,  Mrs.  Tobsenello.  Wait."  Motioning 
a  man  at  the  door,  the  timekeeper  proceeded  with  the  list. 

Those  inside  presently  heard  a  splashing  on  the  sides 
and  roof  of  the  house  as  if  the  men  were  throwing 
buckets  of  water  on  the  building.  But  Sharp,  who 
could  see  a  number  of  faces  in  an  open  window,  real 
ized  that  the  walls  were  being  soaked  with  oil  and  not 
water.  The  other  windows  framed  faces  in  the  same 
way,  but  none  gave  ground  at  the  deluge  of  oil,  as  they 
were  there  eagerly  watching  the  proceedings  and  Hodges 
and  Sharp  as  well,  and  the  dripping  oil  did  not  affect 
them  in  the  least. 

At  the  name  of  Weldon  the  timekeeper  stopped  again 
and  another  harrowing  scene  occurred,  and  at  the  last 
name,  Mrs.  Weldon  and  Mrs.  Tobsenello  were  sitting 
side  by  side  in  the  house.  Then  John  said,  "Three  are 
missing." 

Turning  to  Hodges  he  said,  "Have  you  anything  to 
say?" 

Strong  Tom,  looking  into  John's  eyes,  saw  something 
that  made  him  fear.  Still  there  was  one  chance  for  his  life 
and  he  took  advantage  of  it  and  began  his  narrative,  a 


236  The  Mechanic 

stenographer  taking  down  what  he  said.  When  it  was 
transcribed  and  read  aloud,  Hodges  said,  "That's  the 
whole  truth,  and  I'll  sign  it,"  and  coming  forward  quickly, 
he  did  so. 

"I  don't  care  for  that  instrument,  Hodges,"  John 
declared,  with  a  terrible  calmness,  "  and  if  you  think  it  is 
going  to  help  you  in  any  way,  you  are  very  much  at  sea. 
You  can  tear  the  paper  up.  I  know  now  that  Playfellow 
is  back  of  all  this." 

Hodges  was  now  in  a  mortal  terror,  for  the  men  sitting 
around  the  table  smiled  grimly  at  Worth's  words,  and 
those  in  the  window  laughed  gratingly. 

"  What  had  you  to  do  with  my  father's  death  ?  " 

Again  Hodges  spoke  the  truth,  the  words  trembling  on 
his  lips. 

"Now  tell  me  who  murdered  my  uncle";  and  Hodges, 
mopping  his  brow,  told  that  story. 

"  Then  the  knife  was  for  me." 

((  "\7  » 

x-e-s. 

"And  you  killed  Heenan  to-night  and  tried  to  kill  his 
daughter.  You  are  a  brave  man,  Hodges,"  sneered  John. 
"  Now,  Mr.  Sharp,  what  have  you  to  say  ?  " 

"Nothing,"  cried  Bill. 

"Hodges  says  you  set  fire  to  the  mill." 

Still  Sharp  remained  silent. 

"  It  may  please  you  to  know  that  Mrs.  Tobsenello  was 
the  daughter  of  the  bandit  that  you  hired  to  abduct  me. 
I  discovered  her  about  six  years  ago,  and,  as  you  see,  she 
remembers  you  perfectly.  I  may  also  add  that  I  traced 
Pike  some  time  ago,  and  found  that  he  had  left  a  rather 
interesting  family  in  Oil  City,  where  he  was  a  pillar  of 
the  church.  But  unfortunately  no  money  was  found, 
although  he  was  known  to  be  fairly  well  off,  and  his 


Flames  of  Yellow  Gold  237 

family  and  little  ones  have  been  cared  for  by  their 
mother,  a  good  woman.  Why  didn't  you  look  after  these 
people  ?  " 

Still  there  was  no  answer,  and  John  continued,  "It 
would  have  been  much  better  every  way  for  you  if  you 
had,  for  I  bought  their  little  house  when  it  was  put  up 
at  auction,  and  found  that  Pike,  like  his  family,  was 
interesting,  too,  for  he  kept  a  diary.  And  I  got  possession 
of  this  by  deeding  back  the  house  to  Mrs.  Pike.  My 
man,  Tony,  photographed  Pike  the  night  he  was  killed, 
and  I  then  noted  the  smell  of  oil  on  his  clothes;  so  when 
I  could  afford  the  luxury  of  a  sleuth,"  and  here  John 
smiled  knowingly  at  Sharp,  "I  engaged  Tony  and  sent 
him  into  the  oil  regions,  first  getting  an  artist  to  sketch 
Pike's  face,  for  Tony's  photograph,  taken  on  the  night 
Pike  killed  my  uncle,  was  not  the  kind  to  invite  sympa 
thetic  attention,  if  I  may  put  it  that  way.  But  the  artist 
did  fairly  well,  because,  with  his  conception,  Tony  found 
Pike's  family  and  it  was  he  who  got  the  diary.  As  Mrs. 
Pike  did  not  fully  understand  the  fires  or  the  death  entries, 
she  thought,  good  soul,  that  her  husband,  being  a  great 
reader  of  dime  novels,  was  merely  keeping  track  of  the 
murders  and  fires  of  fiction.  But  the  diary  also  contained 
many  entries  or  orders  from  you.  All  of  these  were 
mandates  to  kill.  I  have  traced  many  and  found  that 
Pike  did  his  work  well.  It  was  too  bad  he  slipped  into 
my  uncle's  grasp,  eh  ?  " 

Sharp  now  almost  cried  out  in  his  fear,  for  Worth's 
short  laugh  was  much  more  terrible  than  any  curse 
that  he  had  ever  heard.  And  now,  Bill,  in  his  fear  was 
going  to  speak,  but  John  rose  and  said,  "  We  have  listened 
to  enough  in  Hodges'  speech.  Let  us  go  out  into  the 
good  air."  And  then  the  faces  at  the  window  smiled 


238  The  Mechanic 

grimly  and  men  came  in  and  poured  oil  on  the  floor. 
When  John  had  gone  others  boarded  and  nailed  the 
windows  securely.  Hodges  and  Sharp  meanwhile  watched 
these  preparations  with  wild,  dilated  eyes. 

At  the  door  John  said  to  the  two  women,  "  To-morrow 
you  will  receive  deeds  to  the  houses  you  are  living  in,  and 
our  cashier  will  allow  you  thirty  dollars  a  month  to  live 
on."  And  when  they  tried  to  thank  him  he  said  gently, 
"No  thanks,  please;  you  are  merely  receiving  from  the 
mills  what  is  your  due." 

"Then  you're  going  to  build  again?"  asked  Mrs. 
Weldon. 

"  Of  course,"  John  replied. 

Outside  he  saw  the  expectant  crowd  still  sweltering  in 
the  frightful  heat  that  came  from  the  meadows,  for  now  the 
yards  which  held  thousands  of  barrels  of  oil  were  on  fire. 
Men  had  tried  to  play  the  hose  on  these  great  stacks  of 
barrels,  but  the  intense  heat  had  driven  them  away.  It 
was  three  o'clock  and  soon  the  sun  would  be  up. 

Playfellow,  from  his  high  altitude  on  the  Palisades, 
had  seen  the  first  tongue  of  flame,  followed  by  a  dense 
mass  of  smoke  that  gathered  and  gathered  in  the  still 
night  air.  With  joy  heretofore  unknown  to  his  being, 
he  saw  the  gigantic  ring  in  the  heavens,  ever  ascending 
and  always  increasing.  Then  the  huge  tank  exploded, 
and  other  buildings,  as  if  by  magic,  added  to  the  awful 
fury  of  the  burning  oil.  Sixty  acres  of  ground  were  now 
one  mass  of  flame.  His  soul  gloried  in  the  magnificent 
spectacle  of  this  great  sea  of  fire.  Many  others  now 
came  to  this  point  and  looked  with  awe  upon  the 
terrible  conflagration. 

They  saw  something  so  stupendous  that  their  sense 
was  in  sorrow.  Even  children  were  hushed  from  accla- 


Flames  of  Yellow  Gold  239 

mations  of  joy,  for  all  knew  the  Meadows  shops;  all  realized 
that  thousands  made  their  daily  bread  there,  and  now  how 
would  this  army  of  workmen  live?  But  this  aspect  of 
the  fire,  which  saddened  all,  only  added  to  the  fierce 
pleasure  which  pervaded  the  being  of  Playfellow.  As 
he  looked,  he  hugged  himself  with  delight,  nursing  the 
thought,  "  The  Lord  has  answered  my  prayer  and  deliv 
ered  my  enemy  into  my  hands."  For  three  hours  he  drank 
in  the  glorious  beauty  of  the  fire.  It  seemed  to  him  that 
it  was  his,  and  so  it  was,  and  in  each  flame  he  saw  yellow 
metal  running  back  to  his  coffers.  Every  fierce  shooting 
tongue  of  fire  looked  to  him  like  a  pillar  of  gold,  and  in 
the  gloom  and  murkiness  of  the  dense  cloud  of  smoke 
which  choked  the  sky  he  saw  the  funeral  of  his  enemy, 
Worth. 

And  once,  through  sheer  delight,  he  went  down  on  his 
knees  and  prayed.  Now  the  great  light  was  growing  less 
and  the  sorrowing  people  were  on  their  way  home,  speak 
ing  in  hushed  tones,  for  the  glamor  of  the  majestic  destruc 
tion  was  still  strong  on  them  and  they  saw  nothing  beyond 
the  wrecked  homes.  But  Playfellow  was  untroubled  with 
moral  scruples ;  he  saw  only  the  fire  and  the  golden  future 
which  the  great  light  had  made  and,  turning  to  one  of 
the  satellites,  who  accompanied  him,  he  exclaimed  in  his 
squeaking  voice,  as  though  drunk  with  joy,  "From  now 
on,  I  once  more  can  put  a  price  on  bare  existence."  And 
with  this  delphic  utterance  he  turned  and,  in  grotesque 
stateliness,  walked  to  his  waiting  carriage. 

And  yet,  if  he  had  heard  John  Worth's  speech  to  his 
people,  he  would  have  trembled  instead,  for  at  that  time 
John  was  on  the  doorstep  of  the  house  that  held  Hodges 
and  Sharp,  and  back  of  him  were  men  ready  to  board  up 
the  door. 


240  The  Mechanic 

But  the  hammer  was  stayed  to  hear  the  man  they  all 
loved,  because  in  fair  weather  or  foul  he  had  not  changed. 
In  prosperous  days  he  was  still  the  same  John  Worth 
they  had  always  known.  They  had  never  come  within 
reach  of  him  or  known  him  in  an  intimate  way,  either  in 
poverty  or  prosperity,  but  he  was  always  their  friend,  not 
in  words,  but  in  deeds.  And  to-night  they  were  in  great 
sorrow,  for  they  did  not  think  he  would  rebuild,  and  yet 
they  were  not  at  that  moment  thinking  of  themselves. 

They  saw  only  wanton  destruction  of  the  John  Worth 
Mills,  the  mighty  fabrics  of  a  man's  genius,  now  in 
smoke,  and  they  thirsted  for  the  blood  of  those  who  had 
done  the  deed.  No  one  doubted  but  that  Hodges  and 
Sharp  were  to  die.  The  mechanics  from  the  printing 
works  and  from  the  stove  and  burner  factories  had  joined 
the  oil  men  and  their  voices,  like  those  of  the  men  more 
directly  concerned,  said,  "Death";  just  that  word. 
Nothing  else  was  considered. 

When  John  raised  his  hand  for  silence,  from  their 
knowledge  of  his  kindness  many  thought  that  he  was 
going  to  make  a  plea  for  the  two  men  inside.  And  when 
he  said,  "I  want,  to  say  a  few  words  to  you,"  and  then 
he  stopped  for  a  moment  to  collect  his  thoughts,  in  that 
second  Hiram  Bidding,  a  tall  New  Englander,  and  a 
labor  leader,  exclaimed,  "No  use,  John,  it's  all  settled; 
I  guess  they  are  going  to  burn  all  right.  It's  sort  o' 
fixed  that  way." 

Finding  his  words,  John  began,  "I  am  going  away 
to-morrow  and  will  be  absent  six  weeks,"  and,  haltingly, 
"I  am  not  just  sure  at  the  moment  how  we  stand." 

But  Willie  Radley,  who  had  hurried  from  New  York 
when  he  heard  of  the  fire,  was  now  on  the  outer  circle  of 
the  great  mass  of  human  beings  and  realized  what  was 


Flames  of  Yellow  Gold  241 

worrying  John.  As  an  idea  had  been  growing  in  his 
mind  for  the  past  two  weeks,  he  yelled  at  the  top  of  his 
voice,  "  Don't  bother  about  money,  John;  we  have  plenty." 

A  cheer  went  up  in  answer,  and  then  more  cries  of 
"  William  Radley,  forever,"  and  John,  now  assured,  went 
on: 

"  Monday  we  shall  begin  erecting  a  new  plant,  so  all  of 
you  now  on  the  pay-roll  will  remain  there,  providing  you 
are  willing  to  help  at  any  or  all  sorts  of  work.  Your 
superintendent  will  make  plans  to-morrow,  but  I  partic 
ularly  want  you  to  see  that  no  strangers  are  allowed  near 
the  deodorizing  mill.  So  now  we  will  dismiss  work,  if 
you  please,  and  take  up  the  case  of  the  two  men  inside. 

"  It  may  be  well  for  me  to  state  first  that  I  haven't  the 
slightest  intention  of  interfering  with  their  fate.  I  am, 
as  you  have  found  out,  a  man  who  believes  in  the  prin 
ciples  of  Government  as  laid  down  by  our  forefathers.  I  do 
not  want  to  change  the  sound  principles  of  liberty  that  are 
part  of  our  bone.  Twenty  years  ago  labor  and  capital  got 
on  fairly  well.  Then  began  to  come  in  the  giant  amalga 
mations,  and  because  a  profit  at  any  price  had  to  be  shown, 
all  sorts  of  trickery  were  resorted  to  in  order  to  pay  interest 
on  stock  that  had  no  value.  Whereas,  if  the  properties 
had  been  left  to  their  natural  growth,  every  one  concerned 
would  have  been  better  off. 

"But  if  these  causes  were  the  only  ones  they  could  be 
adjusted.  These  outrageous  growths  of  fortunes  have 
demoralized  society,  and  there  now  exists  in  America  a 
state  of  corruption  such  as  is  known  nowhere  else.  Even 
doctors  are  bribed  by  drug  vendors  to  use  their  wares. 
Servants  are  bribed  to  betray  their  employers'  interests, 
and  politician  has  become  a  synonym  for  grafter.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  it  is  difficult  to-day  to  find  a  business  that 


The  Mechanic 

is  run  honestly,  and  it's  harder  still  to  find  a  business  man 
who  does  not  strip  his  employees  to  the  bone.  Witness 
the  great  institutions  throughout  the  country  that  are 
making  millions,  and  witness  also  the  pay  they  give  their 
workers.  We  see  these  institutions  always  howling  for 
their  rights,  always  playing  to  the  gallery  of  public  opinion 
by  spectacular  gifts,  and  meantime  reaching  with  dirty 
hands  for  more  money.  It  is  always  money,  and  no 
matter  how  it  comes,  it's  money.  And  so  they  preach 
honesty  to  the  poor,  yet  they  all  bribe  in  one  form  or 
another  to  further  their  ends,  and  we  see  the  result. 

"We  see  taxes  evaded  by  those  with  political  pulls,  as 
we  see  political  jobs  secured  by  bribery.  Other  countries 
can  attack  such  a  condition  by  mandatory  laws,  but  we 
are  bound  together  by  the  tie  of  equality  and  we  can 
move  only  through  the  people  themselves.  And  it  is 
this  that  permits  these  rascals  to  bribe,  pillage,  and 
plunder  —  permits  such  scourges  as  Playfellow  and 
Hodges  to  live,  grow,  and,  by  their  dastardly  methods,  to 
corrupt  the  morals  of  a  country.  Look  at  to-night's 
work  —  three  men  sent  to  their  Maker  because  we  dare 
to  try  to  sell  the  same  commodity  as  that  sold  by  Hodges 
and  Playfellow.  These  two  began  to  kill  my  people  even 
in  my  infancy,  and  yet  you,  Hiram  Bidding,  and  perhaps 
others,  think  I  would  raise  a  hand  to  save  those  creatures 
in  there. 

"I  have  always  intended  to  kill  Hodges  as  I  intend  to 
destroy  Playfellow;  they  gave  me  no  mercy  and  I  will 
give  them  none.  To  a  portion  of  our  community  this 
will  sound  wrong,  but  I  am  not  thinking  of  them  to-night, 
as  I  did  not  yesterday  and  shall  not  to-morrow.  To-night 
we  shall  be  a  law  unto  ourselves,  and  so  far  as  I  can,  I 
am  going  to  stamp  out  that  which  is  eating  into  the  vitals 


Flames  of  Yellow  Gold  243 

of  our  country  —  bribery.  The  law-breakers  shall  feel 
the  force  of  broken  laws  this  night. 

"  Our  printing  works,  our  steel  works,  and  our  copper 
mills  are  run  in  the  open.  We  do  not  bribe,  or  cheat,  or 
steal.  I  have  lately  spoken  to  the  owners  of  the  great 
independent  steel  mills,  and  they  are  with  me  in  the  effort 
to  stamp  out  this  awful  curse  of  purchasing  souls. 

"  I  had  a  talk  with  Neil  Mannering,  after  his  exposure 
of  Playfellow  and  Marvin,  and  he  showed  me  orders  he 
had  issued  to  his  purchasing  agents  and  others,  and  I 
noted  with  delight  that  he  realizes  the  ghastly  spread  of 
bribery,  and  that  he  believes  with  me  that  mere  talking 
is  useless  and  that  only  through  fear  and  discipline  can 
we  hope  to  get  back  that  which  was  ours  before  the 
history  of  Playfellow  was  written.  The  nation  knows 
that  this  man  has  killed  and  pillaged,  and  yet  he  remains 
free.  They  have  seen  Congress  play  with  this  same 
bribery.  Mechanics,  and  I  am  one  until  I  die,"  and  a 
hoarse  yell  greeted  these  words,  "and  all  intelligent 
craftsmen,  see  that  if  a  rich  man  asks  for  protection,  no 
matter  how  flimsy  the  pretext,  he  gets  policemen  by  the 
score,  and  if  one  of  you  should  ask  for  protection  you 
would  be  ridiculed.  And  yet  your  life,  under  our  consti 
tution,  is  as  valuable  as  any. 

"  When  this  oil  fight  is  over  and  independent  companies 
are  working  throughout  the  country,  I  am  going  to  exert 
all  my  influence  to  cut  this  cancer  from  out  the  body 
politic,  and  I  say  now,  let  the  bribers  beware,  for  they 
will  get  no  mercy  from  the  associations  which  I  intend 
to  organize.  Let  those  that  kill  people  watch,  for  I 
intend  to  give  these  creatures  the  same  sort  of  a  deal  that 
they  have  given,  and  if  you  and  the  others  "  —  and  John 
circled  with  his  arm  the  north,  south,  east,  and  west, 


244  The  Mechanic 

"help,  we  will  exterminate  bribery.  I  think  I  shall  have 
the  money  to  prosecute  this  work  and  I  think  I  possess 
the  courage.  Now,  men,  Hodges  is  mine,  not  yours. 
The  other  was  merely  a  tool  and  doesn't  figure,  except  as 
such,  so  I  alone  light  this  fire." 

A  hoarse,  "No  —  no,  John,"  was  the  answer,  and 
many  came  to  the  door. 

"  Hodges  is  mine,  I  say.  I  lost  father  and  uncle  through 
him,  so  stand  back  or,  by  God,  I'll  brain  you." 

And  those  that  had  come  forward  to  light  the  fire  fell 
back  in  fear,  for  they  saw  that  Worth  meant  what  he  said. 
But  at  that  moment  a  cry,  "They  are  escaping,"  was 
heard  from  the  back  of  the  house,  and  the  crowd 
rushed  in  that  direction. 

But  John  was  first  around  the  corner;  but  hardly  had 
he  turned  it  when  he  heard  the  sharp,  quick  snap  of  a 
revolver.  Running,  he  came  to  a  little  group  standing 
about  a  man  who  was  prone  on  the  grass.  John  saw  that 
it  was  Hodges  and,  raising  his  eyes,  discovered  a  number 
of  his  men  disappear  in  the  shadows  of  the  trees  and 
knew  that  they  were  after  Sharp. 

Waving  the  crowd  back,  in  a  voice  full  of  pain  John 
cried,  "Who  did  this?"  But  there  was  no  answer,  as 
none  apparently  knew.  The  faces  of  all,  however,  wore 
a  pleased  look,  and  John,  seeing  the  futility  of  an  inves 
tigation,  called  for  Tony.  It  took  some  time  to  find  him, 
but  when  he  appeared  John  said  sternly,  "  Was  it  you  ?  " 

"No,  master." 

"  Do  you  know  anything  about  it  ?  " 

"I  know  that  two  men  were  sitting  at  the  back  door 
with  the  boards  ready  to  nail  up;  all  the  others  had  gone 
to  the  front  to  hear  your  speech.  Hodges  and  Sharp 
must  have  rushed  these  two." 


Flames  of  Yellow  Gold  245 

"Who  were  the  men ?" 

"I  don't  know." 

"We  will  go  home  now,  Tony.  Ah,  Tyndale,  you 
here?" 

"Yes;  came  over  when  I  saw  the  fire." 

"  Jump  in  and  we'll  try  for  a  cup  of  coffee.  I  wonder 
who  shot  Hodges?"  and  John  studied  the  wheel  of  his 
vehicle  as  if  for  information. 

Tyndale  answered  calmly,  "I  wonder." 


CHAPTER  XXII 

WHAT   FOLLOWED    THE   FIRE 

WHEN  Playfellow  arrived  at  his  city  residence  he  said 
to  the  footman  who  was  awaiting  him,  "Call  me  at  ten 
o'clock  and  have  all  the  papers  for  me."  Promptly  at 
that  hour  he  was  awakened  from  a  splendid  dream  of 
yellow  gold  in  columns,  and  the  smile  on  his  face  remained 
until  he  had  finished  his  breakfast  of  predigested  food,  and 
had  selected  an  easy-chair.  He  felt  a  vague  perplexity 
while  he  ate,  just  a  line  of  shading  wonder  as  to  Hodges' 
whereabouts,  for  according  to  arrangements,  his  accom 
plice  should  have  been  with  him  promptly  at  ten  o'clock. 
Picking  up  the  first  newspaper  that  came  to  his  hand, 
the  front  page,  wholly  devoted  to  a  sketch  of  the  great 
fire,  caught  his  rapt  attention.  He  saw  again  the  sea  of 
flame  and  the  great  ring  of  smoke,  and  while  he  looked 
the  smile  on  his  face  deepened. 

Then  he  turned  over  the  page  and  began  to  read  the 
reporter's  picture,  but  that  palled  after  a  time,  as  descrip 
tive  words  seemed  tame  to  the  thoughts  that  were  surging 
through  his  own  brain.  Turning  to  another  page,  his 
eyes  were  now  held  and  he  grasped  the  paper  with  a 
tighter  hold.  His  heart  began  to  beat  with  suffocating 
rapidity,  for  the  large  headlines  read,  "I  Will  Destroy 
Playfellow."  In  smaller  headlines  he  read  that  Hodges 
and  Sharp  were  dead  —  the  one  shot,  the  other  knifed. 

Rising  from  his  chair  he  walked  up  and  down  the  room 

240 


What  Followed  the  Fire  247 

in  great  agitation,  and  then  picked  up  another  paper  and 
yet  another,  but  all  bore  the  same  word.  Hodges  was 
dead,  and  again  confronted  him  that  line,  "  I  Will  Destroy 
Playfellow."  Mastering  himself,  he  read  John  Worth's 
speech,  and  for  once  in  his  life  he  was  full  of  indignation. 
He  thought,  "How  dare  this  man  threaten  my  sacred 
person  ?  "  and  ringing  his  bell,  he  said  to  the  butler,  "  Call 
up  Walter  Bethune  and  ask  him  to  come  to  see  me  at 
once." 

It  was  odd,  perhaps,  that  Playfellow  should  ask  for 
one  of  New  York's  most  celebrated  lawyers,  for  Bethune 
was  that,  and  yet  with  his  reputation  he  possessed  a  very 
shady  record.  Playfellow  had  first  come  in  contact  with 
him  when  he  began  life  in  New  York  as  a  projector  of 
big  industrials,  and  in  all  large  combinations  he  had 
retained  Bethune,  who  was  an  adept  in  evading  interstate 
and  other  laws.  Bethune  assumed  the  habits  and  ways 
of  the  simple  life.  This  was  his  method  of  appealing  to 
the  gallery  of  public  opinion,  and  his  clothes  were  made 
to  conform  to  this  idea,  as  he  always  wore  black  with  a 
white  bow  tie.  His  soft,  broad-brimmed  black  hat  gave 
him  the  appearance  of  a  Quaker,  and  it  was  only  when 
he  removed  this  that  you  saw  the  man,  for  he  had  a  broad, 
high,  furrowed  forehead  and  piercing  gray  eyes,  shaded 
in  black.  It  being  Sunday,  he  was  not  long  in  answering 
the  oil  magnate's  call. 

On  seeing  him,  Playfellow,  for  he  was  still  very  much 
excited,  cried,  "  I  want  this  fellow  Worth  bound  over  to 
keep  the  peace!  See!"  and  Playfellow  pointed  to  the 
papers.  "  He  threatens  to  kill  me,  and  of  course  he  shot 
Hodges." 

And  Bethune,  who  had  wondered  greatly  why  he  was 
wanted,  and  now  understanding,  said,  "  You  haven't  read 


248  The  Mechanic 

all  the  papers  carefully  or  you  would  have  found  out  that 
Worth  did  not  shoot  Hodges." 

"  That  is  merely  a  distinction,  as  of  course  he  hired  a 
man  to  do  the  killing,  and  I  don't  want  to  be  assassinated. 
This  brute,  Worth,  must  be  tied  up  by  the  law,"  and 
again  Playfellow  raised  his  voice. 

Now  Bethune  smiled  and  said,  "  How  are  we  going  to 
do  it?" 

"Don't  you  know?" 

"  I  confess  I  don't  see  my  way  clear  to  tie  him  up,  as 
you  put  it." 

"Why?" 

"  There  are  large  reasons  in  the  way  —  very  large  ones, 
indeed." 

"Tell  me  one." 

"Yourself." 

Playfellow  cried  angrily,  "  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"Look  further  into  the  papers  of  to-day  and  you  will 
find  an  account  of  a  big  land  deal  in  Utah,  and  attached 
to  this  is  your  name.  I  remember  distinctly  advising 
you  against  going  into  this  scheme."  Playfellow  flushed 
slowly  and,  picking  up  the  paper,  read,  "  A  Big  Steal  In 
Land  Engineered  By  Playfellow."  Then  he  cried,  "  How 
could  I  know  that  the  details  would  come  out  ?  Some  one 
has  leaked." 

"Oh,  I  only  used  that  to  show  by  suggestion,  as  it 
were,  how  hard  it  will  be  when  we  ask  the  court  to  put 
Worth  under  bonds,  as  of  course,  we  shall  be  asked  a 
lot  of  uncomfortable  questions.  I  feel  sure  you  see  my 
point." 

Playfellow  saw  what  the  lawyer  meant,  still  he  was 
scared  and  showed  it,  for  this  was  the  first  time  that 
any  one  had  turned  on  him  and  said  plainly,  "  I  will 


What  Followed  the  Fire  249 

destroy  you."  He  did  not  like  it,  and  he  hoped  to  dis 
cover  a  way  in  the  law  that  he  had  never  before  called 
upon  for  protection,  and  was  very  much  annoyed  to  find 
that  the  law  might  work  two  ways  at  one  and  the  same 
time.  Surely  the  world  was  in  a  very  bad  way  when 
Playfellow  thought  of  calling  on  the  machinery  of  govern 
ment,  as  he  had  heretofore  proved  more  clearly  than 
any  other  man  how  much  he  despised  the  law  which  gave 
his  kind  sustenance.  Petulantly  he  turned  to  Bethune 
and  said,  "  What  shall  I  do  against  this  scoundrel  ?  I 
admit  he  worries  me.  Can't  Mrs.  Hodges  proceed 
against  him  in  Jersey?" 

"  No  doubt  she  could  bring  a  case,  but  I  see  that  you 
haven't  read  your  papers  carefully  yet,  especially  The 
Fad,  whose  reporter  was  in  the  room  after  the  death  roll 
was  called.  He  states  that  Worth  was  seemingly  well 
posted  on  his  father's  death,  which  of  course  doesn't 
concern  you  much,  but  what  will  interest  you  came  when 
Sharp  was  questioned  by  Worth.  It  would  seem  that 
Sharp  was  game  up  to  the  time  that  Worth  told  him  he 
possessed  a  diary  belonging  to  a  Mr.  Pike  "  — at  this  name 
the  lawyer  smiled  at  Playfellow,  "  which  told  much  of 
that  singular  individual's  life,  and  of  course  you  missed 
The  Fad's  other  great  story  of  Hodges'  confession, 
which  is  to  be  made  public  to-morrow.  I  should  think," 
and  the  lawyer  smiled  at  the  fear  in  Playfellow's  face, 
"  that  you  would  do  all  in  your  power  to  keep  Mrs.  Hodges 
quiet." 

"But  suppose,"  said  Playfellow,  querulously,  "that 
Worth  should  begin  action  against  me  on  this  Hodges 
confession  you  speak  about?" 

"Not  the  slightest  danger  of  that,  and  I  am  speaking 
as  sure  as  a  book.  You  will  see  by  his  speech  he  has  a 


250  The  Mechanic 

mighty  poor  opinion  of  the  law  as  nowadays  adminis 
tered.  Depend  upon  it,  he  won't  fight  that  way." 

"Can't  we  get  up  an  agitation  against  him  in  Glass 
Hall  and  mold  public  opinion  ?  We  have  worked  that 
game  successfully  before." 

"You  must  see  his  present  popularity,"  laughed  the 
lawyer,  "and  that  if  he  cared  to  take  the  trouble  he 
could  muster  ten  votes  to  our  one,  and  you  know  that's 
what  counts.  No;  if  I  were  you,  I  should  depend  entirely 
on  your  foreign  contracts  to  break  him.  You  have 
broken  more  than  a  thousand  large  concerns  by  actual 
count,  and  I  think  you  have  him  in  your  clutches  now." 

Playfellow  smiled  as  his  fear  for  his  life  vanished  for 
a  time,  and  cried,  "  I  won't  have  any  mercy  on  him  or  the 
others!" 

Bethune,  seeing  what  his  words  had  done  for  his  client, 
added,  "And  your  stock  will  begin  climbing  to-morrow, 
especially  if  you  let  me  give  the  press  Worth's  obligations 
to  Europe." 

"  Do,  do,"  cried  the  old  man  "  and  threaten  a  lawsuit 
on  killing  a  good  man  like  Hodges.  A  good  strong  state 
ment,  with  my  many  gifts  to  charity,  will  make  friends,  as 
it  has  always  done." 

All  over  America  people  were  talking  of  the  fire,  and 
those  that  believed  in  the  ways  of  peace  censured  Worth 
for  his  speech,  which  was  clearly  a  public  statement,  and 
not  just  a  few  words  to  his  workmen.  Others,  and  these 
were  largely  in  the  majority,  wondered  how  Worth  would 
answer  the  fire.  Not  by  the  slow  process  of  law,  they 
felt  sure,  and  they  were  certain,  though  his  future  looked 
dark,  that  he  would  in  his  own  way  even  things  up. 

When  Monday  morning  came  the  public  rushed  to  the 
newsboys,  who  were  screaming,  "The  Hodges  Confes- 


What  Followed  the  Fire  251 

sion,"  and  all  read  what  Hodges  had  signed,  and  this 
made  for  a  great  sensation.  Even  old  and  staid  journals 
recommended  Worth  to  bring  suit  for  damages  against 
Playfellow.  But  he  was  away  North,  and  when  seen  by 
a  reporter  said  merely,  "  Haven't  any  statement  to  make." 

Other  newspaper  men  tried  to  interview  Tyndale,  but 
Worth's  lawyer  refused  to  be  seen.  But  there  was  plenty 
of  "copy,"  as  Playfellow's  threat  of  proceeding  against 
Worth  made  a  sensation  that  was  not  anticipated.  Meet 
ings  held  all  over  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  elsewhere 
cried  as  in  one  voice,  "Hodges  deserved  death,  and  if 
Playfellow  and  his  gang  of  bribers  want  trouble  we  will 
give  it  to  them  in  large  doses." 

It  was  these  people  in  mass  that  showed  Playfellow 
and  Bethune  that  the  public  generally  were  for  Worth 
up  to  the  price  of  blood.  John,  now  discussed  more  than 
any  other  man  in  the  country,  was  on  the  train,  going  as 
fast  as  he  could  to  his  mill  at  Lake  Superior. 

He  had  said  to  Lurgan,  "  I  don't  know  how  extensive 
their  'fire'  order  is,  and  I  must,  at  all  hazards,  protect 
the  barrel  factory.  I  am  taking  Tony  with  me  and  have 
requested  Catherine  not  to  leave  this  place  while  I  am 
away.  For  her  safety  I  have  requested  Hadley  to  turn 
out  of  the  grounds  every  stranger  that  he  sees." 

Lurgan,  who  wanted  to  talk  business,  said,  "How 
about  that  oil,  John  ?  " 

"Oh,"  John  replied,  smiling,  "trust  me  a  bit  longer." 

With  a  tear  in  his  eye,  the  old  man  cried,  "  I  trust  you 
always,  John,  and  if  you  only  loved  Catherine  I  should, 
even  in  poverty,  be  the  happiest  man  in  America.  For 
you  are  a  man,  John,  with  all  that  word  means." 

John  was  going  to  say  something,  but  Tyndale,  who 
had  been  sent  for,  entered  at  the  moment  and  John 


The  Mechanic 

murmured,  "I'll  see  you  before  I  go."  But  he  had  no 
opportunity  for  another  talk  with  Lurgan,  as  Tony  came 
in  shortly  to  say  that  they  had  barely  time  to  catch  the 
train. 

"I  think  you  have  all  my  wishes;  at  any  rate  I'll  be 
always  near  a  long-distance  wire,"  and,  hastily  writing  a 
note,  he  said,  "  Give  this  to  Willie,  and  he  will  attend  to 
the  financial  matters  you  mention." 

At  the  door  Lurgan  gave  John  a  paper,  whispering, 
"Read  that  and  you'll  understand  my  meaning  more 
clearly." 

John  was  in  a  curious  mood  and  his  soul  was  greatly 
troubled.  At  the  works  in  Michigan  the  men  found  a 
totally  different  Worth  from  the  man  they  had  previously 
known,  as  now  he  seemed  to  possess  the  spirit  of  the 
devil  and  was  hardly  ever  satisfied  with  anything  or 
anybody.  He  was  there  for  several  days,  and  in  parting 
said  to  Tony: 

"  Shoot  the  first  stranger  you  see  back  of  the  mill,  and 
don't  sleep  a  wink  until  all  the  barrels  are  shipped.  And 
only  leave  here  with  the  last  lot;  do  you  understand?" 

"Perfectly,  master." 

"And  continue  to  send  a  man  with  every  train  load. 
I'm  going  to  our  own  oil  property." 

When  John  got  into  his  power-boat,  Tony  grieved,  for 
only  once  before  had  he  seen  his  master  with  red  eyes, 
and  he  wondered  what  was  wrong. 

"I  never  saw  him  so  excited  before,"  exclaimed  Tony 
to  the  foreman.  "Some  devil  spirit  is  eating  into  him." 

And  John's  heart  was  a  sea  of  despair,  but,  fortu 
nately  perhaps,  he  had  plenty  of  work  to  do  and  soon 
he  was  on  his  own  oil  fields,  superintending  the  filling  of 
,the  barrels  for  Europe.  When  he  had  arranged  things 


What  Followed  the  Fire  Z53 

there,  he  went  to  Texas,  always  consumed  by  feelings 
absolutely  remote  from  his  work.  He  had  not  even  heard 
from  Willie,  nor  did  he  once  think  of  him,  and  Willie,  for 
a  time,  was  in  desperate  straits,  and  all  because  he  loved 
John  Worth. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

FORMULA    1506 

THE  John  Worth  Bank  building  was  a  brick  and  stone 
structure  four  stories  high.  The  upper  floors  were  occu 
pied  by  John  Worth;  the  third  floor  was  filled  with 
draftsmen,  whose  duties  were  to  put  down  definitely 
and  accurately  on  paper  the  work  which  he  outlined  to 
them.  The  fourth  floor  was  used  entirely  for  laboratory 
work,  and  here  was  to  be  found  every  known  apparatus, 
every  chemical,  and  every  reagent  used  in  scientific  re 
search.  It  was  in  this  room  that  the  liquid  to  harden 
copper  was  made,  and  it  was  here  that  the  largely  specu 
lative  mind  of  Worth  held  full  sway.  Here  he  realized 
that  there  were  no  boundaries  to  science,  no  beaten  roads 
or  paths.  He  always  enjoyed  his  hours  in  the  laboratory, 
for  they  seemed  to  belong  to  another  world  and  yet  were 
essentially  practical.  He  was  following  the  bent  of  his 
business  and  was  trying  to  solve,  through  chemistry,  that 
which  would  help  him  forward  in  the  great  fight  for  life. 
And  it  was  here,  too,  that  Harold  Tyndale  would  often 
come  to  watch  Worth's  experiments.  John  liked  Tyn 
dale,  liked  his  cryptic,  humorous  way  of  putting  things, 
and  they  had  become  friends.  One  day  before  the  fire 
they  had  been  talking,  and  John's  determined  expression 
interested  the  lawyer. 

"  Why  do  I  look  grim,  Tyndale,  you  ask  ?  I  have  just 
discovered  something  that  startles  me.  I  hardly  dare 

254 


Formula  1506  255 

believe  it  myself  yet,  much  less  speak  of  it  to  another. 
If  my  deductions  are  correct,  this  age  of  steel  is,  indeed, 
at  the  mercy  of  a  new  factor,  the  existence  of  which  has 
never  been  imagined,  not  even  by  writers  like  Verne. 
I  have  discovered  a  mechanico-chemic  disease,  that,  once 
it  has  attacked  steel  or  iron  in  any  of  their  forms,  will 
almost  instantly  dissipate  the  inherent  strengths  of  those 
world-worshiped  materials  and  leave  them  impotent  as 
the  charred  semblance  of  the  log  which  lies  in  that  grate. 
See!  I  shall  inoculate  that  old  retort.  There — watch  it 


now! 


A  drop  of  fluid  from  the  tip  of  a  glass  rod  fell  into  the 
dingy  laboratory  implement.  But  nothing  seemed  to 
occur.  There  it  stood,  black  and  red  and  homely. 

Tyndale  turned  to  Worth  questioningly — "  When?" 

"  Touch  it,  Tyndale." 

Tyndale  strode  forward  and  his  hand  closed  upon  what 
still  appeared  to  be  the  retort,  but  there  was  no  substance 
within  his  grasp.  His  fingers  met,  and  between  them 
remained  only  a  coating  of  rust.  The  iron  receptacle 
had  disappeared  as  a  bubble  of  soap  bursts,  and  where  it 
had  stood  upon  the  table  there  now  was  only  a  trace  of 
reddish  black  powder. 

"Paint  the  steel  columns  of  a  sky-scraper  to-night," 
said  Worth,  "  and  to-morrow  but  a  ruin  of  brick  and  stone 
will  remain,  with  not  an  ounce  of  iron  or  steel  to  be  found 
in  the  entire  heap.  I  tell  you,  Tyndale,  if  this  disease, 
this  cohesion-destroying  germ,  should  ever  lay  hold  of 
this  city,  there  would  be  a  catastrophe  beyond  descrip 
tion,  and  those  who  had  escaped  the  ruin  would  never 
again  build  with  the  black  metal  we  have  learnt  to  call 
wealth.  Let  it  touch  one  end  of  a  railway  line  and  ties 
only  would  be  found  on  the  roadbed.  It  is  a  terrible 


256  The  Mechanic 

power  of  which  to  be  the  custodian,  so  I  shall  lock  for 
mula  No.  1506  here  in  my  strong  box." 

"But  I,  too,  have  the  combination." 

"  Yes,  Tyndale,  but  I  trust,  in  event  of  my  death,  that 
you  will  destroy  1506." 

Stirring  scenes  and  his  own  excessive  work  in  fighting 
Playfellow  soon  drove  from  Tyndale's  mind  this  great 
discovery  of  Worth's.  But  when  he  was  in  his  office  on 
Monday  morning  this  liquid  demonstration  came  back 
to  him  with  startling  force,  and  with  a  bound  he  was  out 
of  his  chair,  walking  up  and  down  the  room  like  a  caged 
animal.  His  arms  were  folded  and  his  head  was  almost 
buried  in  his  raised  shoulders.  Halting  at  last,  he  took 
a  key  from  his  desk  and  in  a  moment  was  in  the  laboratory. 

Going  quickly  to  John's  strong  box,  he  easily  found 
formula  1506;  his  eyes  glistened  and  a  smile  played  upon 
his  strong,  Indian-like  features.  Putting  on  his  hat,  he 
visited  three  large  chemists,  and  to  each  he  gave  a  part 
of  the  recipe  and  learned  that  he  could  get  five  gallons 
of  the  liquid  in  six  weeks.  Then  he  went  back  to  his 
office,  full  of  suppressed  excitement. 

After  attending  to  his  mail  and  other  routine  work,  he 
went  to  Radley's  office  with  a  number  of  letters  and  said, 
"  The  steamship  companies  will,  of  course,  think  now  that 
we  will  not  be  able  to  deliver  the  oil  contracted  for,  so  I 
have  here  a  notice  in  writing  which  I  want  you  to  sign. 
See  if  my  letter  states  clearly  that  we  hold  them  to  their 
agreements." 

After  reading,  Willie  answered,  "They  are  all  right, 
and  I'll  sign  and  enclose  first  check  on  account." 

"But  here  is  a  letter  for  you  which  Mr.  Worth  gave 
me  just  as  he  was  leaving." 

Breaking  the    seal,   Willie    read    "Personal,"    under- 


Formula  1506  257 

scored,  and,  "Give  Tyndale  checks  to  hold  steamers. 
I'm  going  to  make  the  delivery  of  oil  as  mentioned  in  our 
contracts.  —  John." 

After  reading  John's  letter  Willie  was  more  mystified 
than  ever,  as  he  wondered  how  his  friend  was  going  to 
deliver  that  which  was  nominated  in  the  bond  —  deodor 
ized  oil.  But  he  did  not  voice  his  thoughts,  and  Tyndale 
cried,  "He  is  as  deep  as  the  Pacific;  but  listen  to  me 
and  I  think  I'll  astonish  you." 

Using  a  map  to  illustrate  his  points,  Tyndale  talked 
earnestly,  going  fully  into  the  details  of  his  project.  And 
when  the  lawyer  had  finished,  his  soul  on  fire  with  the 
greatness  of  Tyndale's  scheme,  Willie  cried: 

"That  at  any  rate  is  not  obscure,  and  great  heavens, 
how  it  will  surprise  them,  eh?"  Tyndale  chuckled  and 
Willie  continued,  "I  like  your  idea  of  hitting  back  and 
your  way  of  planning  ahead,  but  I  like  best  the  liquid's 
death-like  silence.  I  also  think  that  you  will  thereby 
pull  us  out  of  a  very  unpleasant  predicament."  Again 
Willie  read  John's  letter,  but  only  to  shake  his  head. 

"I'll  have  everything  in  perfect  readiness.  Did  you 
notice  Playfellow's  wail  for  help  in  this  morning's  papers, 
and  he  has  only  felt  the  velvet  glove  so  far.  When  I 
deliver  this  weird  blow  he  will  realize  what  he's  up 
against.  Up  to  the  present  he  has  held  a  monopoly  on 
certain  lines,"  and  Tyndale,  laughing,  continued,  "I'll 
wager  he  is  so  encrusted  with  his  own  infallibility  that 
he  doesn't  even  think  that  we  contemplate  injuring  him." 

"  If  there's  a  museum  in  hell,  and  there  must  be  such 
a  place  to  divert  its  denizens,  Playfellow  will  wallow  in 
slime,  always  an  object  of  great  interest  and  respect  to 
ordinary  scoundrels,"  remarked  Willie,  vindictively,  and 
then  the  door  closed  on  Tyndale. 


258  The  Mechanic 

Radley  sat  for  a  time  in  deep  thought,  weighing  the 
consequences  of  the  deadly  blow  which  was  to  be  struck 
at  Playfellow.  Then  calling  himself  a  coward  for  waver 
ing,  and  with  Tyndale's  strong  figure  in  his  mind,  he 
turned  to  his  desk  and  drafted  a  letter  to  the  manager  of 
the  Midland  Bank.  This  read: 

"What  amount  of  money  will  you  loan  on  our  steel, 
printing,  and  copper  works  ?  I  attach  the  statement  of 
earnings  of  all  three.  The  first  two  mentioned  have,  as 
you  will  see,  made  big  money.  The  copper  mill  has 
just  started,  but  I  draw  your  attention  to  the  amount  that 
we  paid  for  the  property.  I  also  call  your  earnest  atten 
tion  to  the  report  of  our  manager  who  gives  the  quantity 
of  ore  in  sight  and  in  the  dump,  which  shows  clearly  that 
there  is  a  great  future  for  the  property. 

"  I  desire  you  to  consider  the  matter  of  a  large  loan. 
When  you  have  looked  over  our  securities,  I  will  call 
and  fully  explain  our  needs.  Please  telephone  an 
appointment." 

Willie  looked  this  over  carefully,  and  was  about  to  ring 
for  his  typewriter  to  transcribe  it,  when  a  boy  came  in 
with  a  bit  of  paper  folded  at  the  corner,  and  said,  "  A 
lady  to  see  you,  sir."  Opening  the  paper,  he  saw  a  name 
that  made  his  heart  beat,  for  on  the  paper  was  written, 
"Polly." 

"Show  the  lady  in,"  he  ordered;  and  going  towards 
the  door  as  it  was  opened,  he  cried,  "  I  am  very  glad  to 
see  you,  Miss  Platt,  and  how  are  you,  anyway  ?  " 

"  I  am  very  well,  thank  you,  Willie." 

After  Miss  Platt  was  seated,  she  said,  "What  a  nice 
office,  and  how  large  and  roomy !  I  don't  suppose  you 
ever  do  any  work,  though." 

Willie  smiled  expansively.     "  Not  much  —  the  mahog- 


Formula  1506  259 

any,  the  pictures,  and  the  rug  are  here  merely  to  house  me 
comfortably  and  pleasantly  for  a  few  hours  each  day." 

*  That's  it,  I'm  sure."  Polly  laughed  nervously.  *  At 
any  rate,  cousin  Neil  never  does  anything  but  smoke." 

In  studying  his  beloved  visitor  after  his  first  sweeping 
look,  Willie  noticed  that  her  gaiety  was  forced,  that  her 
face  was  very  pale,  and  that  she  was  extremely  nervous, 
and  he  wondered  what  was  troubling  her.  As  he  was 
very  fond  of  Mrs.  Platt,  he  thought  perhaps  that  she 
might  be  ill,  and  asked,  "  Every  one  at  home  well,  Polly  ?  " 
Looking  at  him,  with  eyes  humid  with  love  and  entreaty, 
she  answered,  "Oh,  yes,  we  are  all  quite  well."  Then, 
her  mood  changing,  as  she  glared  angrily  at  him  for  not 
realizing  what  her  presence  meant,  she  burst  out,  "You 
are  the  stupidest  man  I  know." 

Willie  was  amazed  and,  going  up  to  Polly,  said,  "I 
am  in  the  dumps  and  can't  quarrel  to-day,  so  tell  me, 
what  it  is.  I  see  something  is  wrong  and,  well,  I'm 
stupid,  I  suppose." 

Polly  noted  the  deep  lines  in  Willie's  face  and  a  hunted 
look  in  his  eyes,  so,  changing  again,  and  gazing  at  him 
archly  from  the  corner  of  her  eyes,  in  a  bird-like  voice 
she  said,  "  Where  is  that  little  book  ?  " 

"  Oh,  that  is  put  away,"  replied  Willie,  with  a  flush. 

"But  I  want  to  see  it,"  asserted  Polly,  very  firmly. 

Going  to  his  desk,  Willie,  smiling  sadly,  found  the 
book  and  gave  it  to  Polly. 

"But  it  is  sealed  up  with  stamps,"  she  cried,  "and  I 
want  to  see  inside." 

"  What's  the  use  ?  Those  stamps  are  its  winding  sheet." 

Polly,  stamping  her  foot,  exclaimed,  "Please  break 
those  seals." 

Willie  did  as  requested  and  gave  her  the  book,  which 


260  The  Mechanic 

she  opened  at  the  place  where  there  was  a  marker.  But 
her  eyes  did  not  see  that  which  she  sought;  instead,  in 
one  quick  glance,  she  saw  the  names  of  Worth,  King, 
Lurgan,  and  The  Duffer.  Opposite  each  name  she  saw 
a  row  of  figures ;  a  very  large  row  followed  the  first  three, 
but  a  small  one  was  attached  to  The  Duffer. 

"  This  is  not  the  page  I  want,  and  who  is  The  Duffer, 
anyway  ?  " 

Willie  looked  across  and  saw  the  page.  "  I  don't  know, 
of  course,  what  you  want  to  find  in  the  book,  and  —  " 

"  I  have  it.  I  have  it,"  cried  Polly,  flaunting  the  page 
at  WTillie.  Look,  you  have  asked  me  to  marry  you  thirty- 
three  times,  Willie !  Willie,"  and  now  Polly  came  closer 
and  looked  at  him  in  a  way  that  made  him  almost  suffo 
cate  with  happiness,  "  make  it  thirty-four  ?  " 

Looking  at  her  desperately,  and  with  a  note  of  real 
pain  in  his  voice,  he  cried,  "  I  love  you,  dear,  but  I  can't 
ask  you  to  marry  me  now.  I  was  rich  in  those  days,  or, 
at  any  rate,  on  the  road  to  great  wealth;  now  I'm  a  beggar, 
or  will  be  soon." 

The  girl,  seeing  that  she  was  still  loved,  said  archly, 
"Oh,  Willie,  make  it  thirty-four  just  for  fun.  I  don't 
like  thirty-three;  it's  such  an  unlucky  number!"  Now 
driving  away  his  gloom,  and  playing  the  game  that  he 
had  often  played  before,  Willie  said,  "  Polly,  let's  get 
married  this  evening!" 

"If  you  kiss  me,  I'll  consent,"  answered  Polly,  putting 
her  hands  in  his. 

Willie  could  not  resist  the  red  lips  and  rosy  face,  so  he 
kissed  Polly,  not  once  but  many  times,  and  then  he  said 
contritely,  "I  should  not  have  done  that,  Polly;  it  was 
unmanly  and  unfair." 

*  But,  Willie,  we  are  engaged  now." 


Formula  1506  261 

"But  that  was  only  play." 

"Oh,  but  it  wasn't,  unless,  of  course,  you  don't  love 
me." 

"You  know  I  love  you,  Polly;  still,  I  am  not  going  to 
hold  you  to  an  engagement." 

"Look  here,  Willie,  what  is  wrong,  anyway?  You 
don't  seem  the  least  bit  natural." 

"  Polly,  to  make  you  understand,  I  will  trust  you  with 
a  secret.  When  John  made  his  speech  the  other  night 
to  his  workmen,  I  said  that  we  had  plenty  of  money ;  but 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  we  are  broke.  King  has  no  more  money, 
and  Lurgan,  who  has  put  in  more  than  any  one,  has 
reached  his  end,  and  of  course  all  John's  money  is  gone. 
This  is  the  actual  situation.  Do  you  see  it  ?  " 

"Yes,  dear;  but  tell  me,  who  is  The  Duffer?" 

"lam." 

"Why?" 

"Because  I  own  a  fifth  of  this  bank  and  consequently 
of  everything  else  that  John  has  built,  and  my  earnings 
have  been  small  compared  to  others,  and  hence  my 
assistance  to  carry  on  the  fight  has  been  merely  that  of  a 
helper.  So  I  call  myself  The  Duffer." 

"  But  if  you  have  no  more  money,  how  can  you  carry 
on  the  fight  ?  " 

"Read  that";  and  Willie  gave  Polly  the  letter  which 
he  intended  sending  to  the  manager  of  the  Midland. 

"  Oh,  but  they  will  let  you  have  all  you  want,  Willie, 
so  why  bother  ?  " 

"I  must  tell  you  more  before  you  will  understand. 
We  have  already  drawn  a  great  quantity  of  money  from 
this  bank,  and  the  securities  I  am  going  to  offer  the  Mid 
land  belong  as  of  right  to  our  depositors.  Do  you  see 
now,  Polly  ?  " 


262  The  Mechanic 

"I  see;  and  you  are  doing  this  for  Mr.  King,  Mr. 
Lurgan,  and  John?" 

"No,  dear,  I  am  doing  it  for  John  only.  By  helping 
him,  I  of  course  help  the  others,  but  naturally  I  would 
not  put  my  soul  in  shame  for  Lurgan  and  King." 

"You  love  John,  Willie?" 

"Yes,  dear." 

"Above  honor?" 

"  As  you  see,  above  honor." 

Polly  walked  over  to  Willie  and,  putting  her  cheek 
against  his,  said,  "What  a  strong  man  you  are!  You 
seem  to  be  another  person  to-day,  and  I  like  your  love 
for  Mr.  Worth.  Does  he  know  of  this  —  this  contem 
plated  loan?" 

"No,  sweet." 

"  But  when  he  finds  out,  what  then  ?  " 

"  If  we  weather  the  storm  he  will  never  know.  If  we 
don't  —  well,  take  another  look  in  my  desk  and  you'll 
see  that  I  have  thought  of  that  eventuality,  too." 

Willie's  words  made  Polly  feel  cold  with  fear,  for  she 
thought  she  understood  his  allusion.  Still  with  her  face 
against  his,  she  said,  "You  would  like  the  money  and 
honor  as  well?" 

"  Of  course,  dear,  but  why  dream  ?  " 

"  You  know  that  my  mother  was  a  Carpenter  ?  " 

Not  seeing  the  drift  of  the  remark,  Willie  answered, 
"Of  course,  every  one  knows  that." 

"  Then  we  will  be  married  at  once,  Willie,  and  she  will 
give  you  what  you  want.  I'm  afraid  she  is  very,  very 
rich." 

"That's  impossible,  dear  little  heart,"  cried  Willie, 
flushing. 

"  I  appreciate  now  why  you  told  me  your  secret,"  said 


Formula  1506  263 

Polly,  softly,  "but  even  if  you  did  this  act  which  you 
think  distasteful—" 

"  Dishonorable  is  the  right  word,"  broke  in  Willie. 

"I  should  still  be  willing  to  marry  you,  for  I  seem  to 
have  found  your  strong  side  this  morning.  Would  it  not 
be  better  every  way  if  you  came  with  me  at  once  and 
explained  matters  to  mother  ?  Think  before  you  answer. 
Come  now  and  there  is  no  ghost  to  haunt  you.  I  am 
talking  business  to  you,  Willie,"  and  she  kissed  the  white, 
drawn  face  of  the  man,  and  then  added,  "I  nearly 
cried  my  eyes  out  yesterday  after  I  had  read  about 
the  fire,  and  the  big  frightful  headlines  of  this  morning, 
that  the  John  Worth  Bank  could  not  weather  the  storm 
and  would  go  broke  within  the  week.  Then  I  saw  men 
tion  of  those  contracts  with  England  and  read  that  besides 
losing  the  oil  you  would  have  to  pay  millions  in  penalties. 
It  was  like  a  horrid  dream,  and  then  mother,  who  likes 
you,  said,  'Be  nice  to  him/  I  thought  and  thought,  and 
here  I  am  proposing  to  you.  Do  —  do  come  with  me, 
Willie !  Think  of  the  John  whom  you  love,  the  Catherine 
whom  we  all  love,  and  come." 

"  I'll  go,  dear  heart,  and  tell  the  story  to  your  mother," 
cried  Willie,  reaching  for  his  hat,  "you  are  a  rare 
jewel,  Polly.  But  I'm  afraid  your  mother  won't  like  the 
idea." 

Polly  smiled  brightly.  "Never  figure  women  in  your 
balance  sheets,  Willie;  we  are  not  items." 

"  You  are  fascinating,  at  any  rate,  and  I  want  just  one 
more." 

"Only  a  tiny  one." 

Going  to  the  table  she  picked  up  the  letter  to  the 
Midland  Bank  and  tore  it  up,  saying  nothing,  because 
she  knew  after  talking  with  her  mother,  Willie  would 


264  The  Mechanic 

secure  from  her  all  the  financial  aid  he  needed.  The 
night  before  she  had  confessed  her  love  to  her  mother, 
who  had  answered,  "  Of  course,  Polly,  I  always  knew 
you  cared  for  him.  At  first  I  did  not  quite  like 
the  idea,  but  when  Mr.  Lurgan  told  me  who  he  was, 
and  of  his  manliness  and  cleverness,  and  as  I  also  saw 
that  my  chick,"  and  the  good  mother  patted  Polly's 
bowed  head,  "  was  growing  fond  of  his  society,  I  decided 
that  he  was  a  nice  boy.  Then  one  day  I  heard  from 
your  lips  that  he  wasn't  coming  any  more,  and  I  felt 
sorry.  Now,  dear,  listen  to  me  carefully;  we  want  to 
help  Mr.  Lurgan  and  the  Worths  in  their  dire  extremity, 
but  it's  hard  to  get  at  them.  They  belong  to  the  kind 
who  won't  ask  for  personal  assistance ;  and,  so,  go  to  your 
Willie  this  morning  and  bring  him  to  me.  He  is  fond  of 
John  Worth  and  has  as  well  a  business  head  on  his 
shoulders,  and  with  these  to  work  on,  I  see  a  way  to  help." 

Throwing  her  arms  about  her  mother,  Polly  had  cried, 
"You  are  so  good." 

"  It's  justice,  child,  and  I  may  be  also  a  trifle  affected 
by  the  strong,  sterling  personality  of  Mr.  Snowman"; 
and  Polly's  mother  smiled  and  added,  "That  was  the 
name  Percy  used  when  I  first  met  him,  and  when  I  heard 
the  whole  story  and  then  saw  his  way  of  life  afterwards, 
I,  too,  agreed  with  my  son  that  he  belongs  to  that  class 
of  men  who  make  history,  and  I  also  see  the  strong  love 
for  humanity  that  he  possesses," 


CHAPTER  XXIV 


BEFORE  noon  on  Tuesday,  Willie  was  in  King's  office, 
and  after  the  usual  greeting  said,  "I  have  just  placed  a 
lot  of  money  to  your  credit  at  Lurgan's,  and  —  " 

"Has  it  been  raining  gold?"  interrupted  King,  in  a 
happy  voice. 

"  Yes " ;  and  Willie,  in  a  very  joyous  mood,  looking  in 
fancy  with  full  confidence  at  John's  letter,  continued, 
"  I  suggest  that  you  buy  oil  stock  —  a  lot  of  it,  and  I'll 
give  you  the  tip  when  to  sell  it.  How  much  has  it  gone 
up?" 

"Twenty  points." 

"  I  heard  you  say  to  John  one  day  that  you  had  brokers 
who  '  leaked.' "  King  was  now  looking  directly  at  Willie, 
with  his  strong,  piercing  eyes.  "Buy  all  the  shares  you 
can  through  your  regular  brokers  first.  Then  give  the  leaky 
ones  an  order.  If  possible,  tell  them  your  whole  order." 

King  walked  to  his  ticker  and,  speaking  to  the  instru 
ment,  said  in  a  hushed  voice,  "Then  there  is  a  screw 
loose  in  the  English  and  European  contracts  ?  " 

Willie's  homely  face  expanded  into  a  grin  as  he  an 
swered,  "  I  suspect  that  there  will  be  several  screws  tight 
ened  when  our  oil  is  delivered." 

With  this  vague  statement  he  vanished  and  King  began 
buying  oil  stock.  And  as  there  was  plenty  of  it  for  sale, 
he  had  no  difficulty  getting  all  he  wanted;  then  he  sent 
for  another  firm  of  brokers  and  gave  them  an  order. 

265 


266  The  Mechanic 

In  ten  minutes  Playfellow  knew  that  King  was  a  heavy 
buyer  of  his  stock,  and  in  the  press  the  following  morning 
it  was  stated  that  the  King-Lurgan  combination  were 
trying  to  get  control  of  Oil.  This  item  was  given  to  the 
papers  by  Playfellow  and  made  his  stock  very  firm.  "  I 
see  their  little  game,"  asserted  Playfellow  to  Bethune, 
"and  one  day  soon  they  will  be  up  here  to  arrange  a 
settlement." 

"Do  you  suppose,"  asked  Bethune,  three  weeks  later, 
when  Playfellow's  stock  had  gone  up  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty,  "that  they  know  that  you  are  behind  the  big 
European  purchases?" 

"  As  they  are  dealing  through  a  bank  and  with  regular 
organized  companies,  I  don't  see  why  they  should  suspect 
me,  though  I  admit  the  publicity  these  orders  have  re 
ceived  lately  may  turn  their  eyes  in  my  direction.  But 
I  don't  care  now  what  they  know  or  what  they  suspect." 

"Still  they  show  most  extraordinary  means  for  men 
that  are  supposed  to  be  broke ;  look  at  the  Meadows,  they 
have  a  regular  beehive  of  workmen  rebuilding.  And 
frankly,  Mr.  Playfellow,  I  am  amazed  at  their  silence ;  for 
if  ever  a  company  was  implicated  in  anything,  we  are 
that  company.  I  am  thinking  of  the  Hodges  confession. 
I  can  only  attribute  their  inaction  to  one  cause,  and  that 
is,  that  they  mean  to  retaliate  in  some  terrible  manner, 
so  I  advise  you  to  look  out." 

"Pooh-pooh,"  answered  Playfellow.  "They  won't 
bother  me,  and  how  can  they  hurt  me,  anyway?  I  tell 
you  that  they  are  broke  —  broke." 

The  astute  lawyer  said  no  more,  but  he  was  infected 
with  the  belief,  as  was  every  one  else,  that  John  Worth 
would  answer  the  fire  by  another  of  greater  magnitude. 

The  following  day  the  Italian  shipment  of  oil  was 


To-morrow  at  Six  267 

started,  and  the  press  noted  this  as  if  it  were  a  big  battle 
between  contending  armies.  Newspapers  all  over  the 
country  sent  special  correspondents  to  Europe  to  report 
the  opening  of  the  barrels,  which  was  to  take  place  in 
less  than  six  weeks. 

All  of  Worth's  contracts  had  been  given  to  the  public 
prints,  and  it  was  well  known  that  storage  and  docks  had 
to  be  provided  by  the  European  concerns.  Worth  had 
merely  to  deliver  at  Genoa  harbor  for  Italy,  Hamburg  for 
Germany  and  Austria,  Cherbourg  for  France,  and  Liver 
pool  for  England.  It  was  noticed,  too,  that  the  prices 
ran  from  one  dollar  and  a  quarter  a  barrel  to  three  dollars 
and  a  quarter.  The  great  difference  in  price  was  ex 
plained  by  the  fact  that  in  order  to  meet  their  agreements 
the  steamship  companies  had  to  carry  oil  on  their  passen 
ger  ships,  and  hence  the  extra  charge  per  barrel.  Now 
that  the  first  consignment  had  gone  forward,  all  were 
greatly  concerned,  because  it  was  well  known  that  the 
shipped  oil  had  never  been  near  a  deodorizing  mill,  and 
if  it  had  not  been  refined  it  must  necessarily  be  crude 
oil  and  not  as  stipulated  in  the  contracts. 

Playfellow  arranged  to  send  experts  to  each  and  every 
port,  in  addition  to  those  who  were  to  be  on  the  ground 
to  look  after  the  housing  of  the  oil.  So  far  Tyndale  had 
not  engaged  any  one  outside  of  the  official  examiners,  nor 
did  he  intend  to,  as  he  was  satisfied  with  the  men  appointed. 
He  did  not  hear  the  great,  anxious  voice  of  the  multitude, 
for  he  was  working  night  and  day  on  his  own  project, 
which,  judging  from  the  deep  smile  that  played  upon  his 
features,  must  have  been  moving  along  satisfactorily. 

Two  days  after  the  first  steamer  left  New  Orelans  for 
Genoa  with  its  load,  he  called  on  Willie.  "  If  it  is  agree 
able  to  you,  Radley,  I'll  begin  operations.  I  have  every- 


268  The  Mechanic 

thing  in  perfect  working  order.  As  you  know  through 
the  Midland  Bank,  I  sent  a  man  to  Europe  to  find  out 
about  the  companies  that  we  are  dealing  with,  and  of 
course  I  heard  by  cable  that  Playfellow,  under  cover  of 
Marsh,  his  London  agent,  is  back  of  all  this.  I  did  not 
learn  anything  new,  as  we  suspected  all  this  before;  still 
it  was  worth  finding  out  positively.  But  he  sent  on  one 
bit  of  information  that's  important;  he  learned  that  the 
Bank  of  England  has  accepted  Playfellow's  note  for  a 
very  large  amount,  with  all  his  pipe  lines  as  part  security. 
Now  we  can  harass  Playfellow  a  good  deal  by  getting 
busy  at  once,  as  immediate  action  will  make  the  English 
bank  collect  its  loan  now  instead  of  after  the  oil  is  deliv 
ered.  And  perhaps  we  will,  as  well,  pull  John  out  of  a 
hole,  for  I  don't  see  how  he  can  deliver  deodorized  oil. 
This  last  is  the  important  point.  We  must  pull  John  out 
of  a  hole  and  put  Playfellow  in  one.  What  do  you  say  ?  " 

"You  have  it,"  cried  Willie,  jumping  up.  "Now  is 
the  time,  of  course.  But  is  everything  ready  —  absolutely 
so?" 

And  Tyndale,  smiling,  made  answer,  "  I  am  more  than 
satisfied  with  the  men  I  have  secured,  and  I  have  located 
one  at  each  of  Oil's  important  centers.  I  tell  you  that 
it  is  the  most  gigantic  blow  ever  aimed  at  any  one.  I 
have  tried  the  liquid  and  it  works  to  perfection,  and  now, 
by  God,  Playfellow  pays,  and  pays  hard." 

"How  you  hate  him,  Mr.  Tyndale!" 

"Hate  him!  I  can  see  my  little  sister's  last  look 
before  she  vanished  into  the  unknown,  and  by  her  dead 
body  I  swore  to  be  revenged.  I  was  going  to  shoot,  as 
that  is  our  Western  habit,  but  John  Worth  said,  *  That's 
nothing;  not  even  a  momentary  pang.  My  way  is  best.' 
So  I  followed  him  and  have  grown  to  love  him  and  his 


To-morrow  at  Six  269 

relentless  method  of  warfare.  I  suppose  you  have  sus 
pected  that  I  killed  Hodges.  I  did  that  deed  and  the 
Oil  men  know  it.  I  wouldn't  have  killed  him  but  for 
Mrs.  Worth  and  little  Jo.  I  foresaw  the  end  of  John's 
speech  and  realized  what  he  intended  doing,  so  I  sent 
the  men  at  the  back  of  the  house  away,  and  they  went 
willingly  when  I  told  them  why.  I  hate  him  and  his 
cursed  work!"  Tyndale  laughed  harshly  and  cried  as 
Jie  was  at  the  door,  "  To-morrow  at  six." 

When  he  had  gone,  Willie  thought  of  his  own  grievance 
against  Playfellow,  and  was  glad  that  their  retort  to  the 
fire  was  now  ready  for  fulfilment. 

When  Tyndale  reached  his  own  room  he  pulled  out  of 
a  drawer  a  number  of  telegrams  reading,  "  To-morrow  at 
six  P.M."  and,  taking  them  to  the  telegraph  ofice,  sent 
them  with  a  feeling  of  deep  pleasure. 

In  the  meantime  Willie  called  King  on  the  telephone 
and  said,  "Before  market  closes  to-morrow,  sell  every 
share  of  oil  stock  you  possess." 

"What  will  it  be  worth  to-morrow  at  closing?"  asked 
King,  curiously. 

"Nothing." 

There  was  a  pleasant  smile  on  King's  face  when  he  pro 
ceeded  to  unload  his  holdings;  then  he  began  to  sell  short. 
Willie  called  on  Lurgan  and  asked  if  he  had  any  prop 
erties  that  would  be  affected  by  Oil's  smashing  up,  and 
the  old  man  answered  that  he  had  not,  but  wished  to 
know  what  was  in  the  wind. 

"  Tyndale  and  I,  in  John's  absence,  have  worked  up  a 
little  event." 

"And  that  is?" 

"The  destruction  of  all  Playfellow's  pipe  lines." 

"But,  Willie,  that  will  take  hundreds  of  men." 


270  The  Mechanic 

"  On  the  contrary,  it  will  only  take  twenty." 

The  banker  showed  his  great  astonishment,  and,  with 
wide-open  eyes,  cried,  "Explain." 

"It's  perfectly  stupendous!"  Lurgan  gasped  after 
Willie  had  given  him  an  account  of  the  project. 

The  old  man  sat  looking  out  the  window  for  a  time, 
his  mind  dazed  by  the  magnitude  of  the  scheme.  At 
last,  turning  about,  he  said,  "  Give  me  a  few  more  details, 
I  can't  grasp  it.  Willie,  where  does  John's  power  end  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,  Governor,"  answered  Radley,  solemnly. 

"  Does  he  know  what  Tyndale  is  doing  with  this  liquid  ?  " 

"Not  a  word.  You  see,  Governor,  Playfellow  was 
considerate  enough  to  make  my  father  suffer  the  slow 
torture  undergone  by  a  man  who  watches  his  family 
starving,  so  I  listened  to  this  scheme,  which  belongs  to 
Tyndale,  with  growing  affection,  if  I  may  put  it  that  way. 
And  the  necessary  men  were  ready  to  his  hand,  for  the 
burning  of  our  refineries  put  our  people  in  just  the  right 
humor  to  listen  closely  to  our  lawyer.  Well,  he  and 
Bidding  had  the  twenty  men  in  three  days  and,  as  we 
know  all  about  their  pipe  lines  and  pumping  stations,  it 
was  merely  a  question  of  detail,  and  we  are  strong  on 
detail  in  our  shop.  But  it  was  decided  that  John  should 
remain  in  ignorance." 

"I  see,  and  I  think  you  are  right;  and  again,  he  is 
overworked.  We  must  ship  him  off  somewhere  after 
that  damned  oil  is  delivered.  By  the  way,  Willie,  who 
is  going  to  pay  for  that  oil,  if  it  is  crude  ?  " 

"Mrs.  Radley." 

"  Your  mother,  Willie  ?     I  did  not  know  she  was  rich. " 

"My  wife,  Governor." 

"  Willie,  you  red-headed  imp  of  Satan  —  what  do  you 
mean?" 


To-morrow  at  Six  271 

"It's  still  a  secret,  for  business  reasons,"  asserted 
Willie.  "  You  see,  Neil  Mannering  thought  that  it  would 
be  a  pity  to  let  Playfellow  know  what  he  was  up  against." 

"  Willie,  I'll  throw  this  chair  at  you  if  you  don't  begin 
at  the  beginning." 

"It's  Polly,  Governor!" 

Rushing  to  Willie,  the  old  man  caught  his  hand  and 
cried,  "  You  are  splendid,  and  I  congratulate  you  a  thou 
sand  times."  Lurgan  was  brimming  over  with  joy, 
because  he  saw  what  the  marriage  meant  to  the  John 
Worth  Bank  and  its  schemes,  so  he  went  on,  "I  won't 
tell  a  soul,  Willie;  now  give  me  the  details." 

"  There  is  so  little  to  tell ;  but  first  I  want  to  thank  you 
for  telling  Mrs.  Platt  who  I  am.  I  fancy  you  helped  me 
quite  a  bit,  for  family  means  a  lot  to  those  people." 

Flushing  with  pleasure,  Lurgan  said,  "Don't  bother 
about  that  little  matter.  I  couldn't  do  less  than  put  you 
'right'  when  I  saw  that  you  were  in  love  with  Polly. 
Talk  business,  Willie." 

"  When  I  told  Mrs.  Platt  how  things  stood,  she  called 
a  meeting  of  the  clan  and  told  them  that  we  intended  to 
be  married  at  once.  In  solemn  conclave  it  was  decided 
that  it  would  never  do  to  make  the  wedding  public,  and 
we  were  married  privately.  Then  I  was  put  in  full 
control  of  Polly's  fortune,  so  now  you  know  where  the 
sinews  of  war  are  coming  from." 

"  Then  we  can  pay  for  that  European  oil  and  continue 
the  fight  as  well.  But  is  that  fair  to  you,  Willie  ?  " 

"Don't,  Governor,"  Willie  cried,  with  moist  eyes. 
"You,  King,  and  John  have  always  put  up  without  a 
murmur  or  a  look  in  my  direction,  and  it's  my  turn  now." 
After  a  few  seconds  of  silence,  he  continued,  "  I  gave 
Tyndale  carte  blanche  as  to  men,  and  as  he  has  a  head 


The  Mechanic 

for  organization,  and  is  impelled  by  the  right  motives, 
you  will  see  a  smash  that  will  make  our  fire  look  like  a 
two-spot.  And  there's  no  fire  in  our  scheme,  Governor, 
and  consequently  no  loss  of  life." 

"  It's  magnificent,  Willie.     Does  King  know  ?  " 
"  I  thought  perhaps  you  would  like  to  tell  him." 
"Thanks,  Willie,  I  should.     To-morrow  at  six,  you 
say?" 

"Yes,  Governor,  orders  have  gone  out." 
Lurgan  watched  Willie  depart,  sure  now  of  his  bank 
and  of  his  fortune,  for  something  in  the  little  man's  words 
told  him  that  great  success  was  coming  with  the  morrow. 
He  remembered  with  joy  that  Tyndale's  blow  carried 
with  it  no  danger  to  human  life,  and  so  King  could  say, 
"  Yes  —  yes  —  and  what  are  you  going  to  do  about  it, 
anyway  ?  " 


CHAPTER  XXV 

ASHES   TO   ASHES 

AT  five  o'clock  on  the  fateful  evening,  Harold  Tyndale 
rode  silently  out  of  Jersey  City  on  horseback.  An  hour 
later  he  crossed  a  low  field  to  a  continuous  mound  which 
he  recognized  as  the  pipe  line,  and,  tethering  his  horse  to 
a  fence,  soon  had  the  earth  removed  from  the  iron  tube 
that  carried  Playfellow's  oil.  Then  taking  his  knife,  he 
carefully  scraped  the  rust  and  dirt  from  a  small  part  of 
the  surface.  When  he  had  secured  a  dull  shining  space 
an  inch  square,  he  uncorked  his  glass  bottle  and  allowed 
three  drops  to  fall  upon  the  cleared  iron;  then  corking 
the  bottle  carefully,  he  sat  upon  the  mound  to  await 
developments. 

It  was  still  light  and  he  watched  the  bared  iron  with 
intense  interest.  In  a  few  moments  the  gloss  which  he 
had  made  turned  gray,  but  no  further  change  was  appar 
ent,  and  for  a  moment  his  heart  stood  still  and  he  feared 
that  the  liquid  had  undergone  some  chemical  action. 
Excited  by  this  thought,  he  picked  up  a  small  stone  and 
threw  it  at  the  iron  pipe,  hitting  it  a  few  inches  from  the 
point  at  which  he  had  aimed.  And  what  he  saw  filled 
his  soul  with  gladness,  for  the  stone  apparently  was  not 
stopped  at  all,  but  went  directly  through  the  pipe,  shat 
tering  the  entire  surface  which  had  been  uncovered. 

The  oil  immediately  began  to  flow  into  the  field,  and 
Tyndale,  jumping  on  his  horse,  rode  hard  for  a  half  mile, 

273 


274  The  Mechanic 

in  the  direction  of  the  North  River.  Making  another 
cleared  surface,  he  did  as  before,  only  now  he  rapped  the 
iron  easily,  immediately  after  pouring  a  few  drops  of  the 
liquid  upon  it,  and  it  broke  at  once.  Then  he  poured 
into  the  aperture  the  contents  of  a  small  bottle.  Doubling 
back  on  his  route,  he  saw  that  the  pipe  line  was  leak 
ing  in  many  places,  and  when  he  reached  the  low 
field  it  was  well  covered  with  oil.  Riding  hard  toward 
the  west,  he  tapped  the  line  again  and  then  made  a  long 
stretch  to  a  pumping  station.  Going  beyond  this  a  half 
mile,  he  gave  the  pipe  line  an  application  and,  after 
resting  his  animal,  rode  eastward,  arriving  in  New  York 
on  one  of  the  early  morning  boats.  Reaching  his  apart 
ment,  he  tubbed,  breakfasted,  and  then  went  to  his  office. 

Sleep  was  beyond  him,  as  his  whole  system  was  held 
alert  with  his  terrible  revenge.  The  others  interested, 
Lurgan,  King,  and  Radley,  had  not  slept,  and  very  early 
all  were  at  the  bank  to  hear  from  Tyndale's  own  lips  his 
story  of  the  night.  And  when  he  had  told  it,  he  said, 
"  Now  allow  your  minds  to  dwell  upon  this  calamity,  and 
also  the  added  disasters  to  follow,  for  in  less  than  a  week 
Playfellow  will  also  have  on  his  hands  a  great  many 
damage  suits,  since  the  oil  will  spread  everywhere." 

For  a  time  no  word  was  spoken.  They  were  not  think 
ing  of  the  deep-eyed  Tyndale  and  his  merciless  passion 
for  vengeance,  for  their  minds  were  turned  for  the  first  time 
to  the  awful  destructive  potentiality  which  John's  force 
germ  possessed.  They  speculated  no  further  than  the  de 
stroyed  pipe  lines,  however;  they  were  yet  to  hear  of  the 
crumbling  pumping  stations  and  iron  tanks  where  Play 
fellow  stored  his  oil,  for  the  force  germ  went  with  the  oil 
and  it  disintegrated  all  iron  with  which  it  came  in  contact. 

After  a  few  moments  of  deep  silence,  King  said,  "It 


Ashes  to  Ashes  275 

will  be  very  interesting  to  follow  what  the  wise  ones  have 
to  say,  so  I  hope,  merely  for  my  own  personal  amusement, 
that  none  of  our  men  are  discovered." 

"All  the  men  on  this  work  have  been  selected  with 
great  care  by  Bidding,  who  is  very  clever,  and  remember, 
they  leave  no  trail  behind,  for  the  overflowing  oil  will 
eradicate  their  first  work  of  removing  the  earth,"  answered 
Tyndale,  in  a  voice  that  carried  conviction.  "  The  effect 
of  to-night's  work  will  be  partially  lost  if  the  mystery  is 
removed,  and  I  have  taken  every  precaution ;  at  any  rate, 
I  feel  convinced  that  my  part  will  not  be  known  nor 
will  our  men  be  discovered  in  any  act,  as  time  and  place 
were  chosen  to  suit  each  individual.  Oh,  what  a  joy  it 
was  to  chart  the  routes  and  select  the  spots !  Of  course,  I 
stand  ready  to  confess  it  as  all  mine,  but  I  hope  that  will 
not  be  necessary.  It  is  the  silent  things  that  hurt,  and 
to-day  Playfellow's  soul  begins  its  fight  with  hell,  or  I  am 
very  much  mistaken." 

Lurgan,  liking  Tyndale's  intention  to  assume  all  blame, 
said,  "  If  it  comes  out  we  shall  assume  responsibility  as 
an  institution.  What  do  you  say,  Jim  ?  " 

"That's  right,"  replied  King,  firmly. 

"You  can't  have  all  the  honor,  Tyndale,  as  the  John 
Worth  Bank  pays  the  men  you  engaged,"  asserted  Willie, 
with  a  smile,  "and  this  bank  will  never  abandon  its 
recently  adopted  motto  of  *  Taking  care  of  its  own."3 

Tyndale,  smiling,  voiced  his  thanks  and,  after  a  mo 
ment,  exclaimed,  "It's  the  most  wonderful  and  deadly 
germ  ever  discovered,  and  it  is  going  to  stump  the  scientific 
people,  for  of  course  Playfellow  will  try  to  find  out  what 
power  has  destroyed  his  works.  But  the  liquid  will 
balk  investigation,  for  it  leaves  no  trace  other  than  a 
substance  which  looks  like  ashes.  But  what  I  like  best 


276  The  Mechanic 

about  this  blow  is  its  mysterious  side,  for  those  who  are 
asked  by  Playfellow  what  it  is,  can  only  answer  by  a 
shake  of  the  head." 

"How  long  will  it  take  the  others  to  do  their  part," 
asked  King. 

"  I  had  each  one  take  up  a  district  which  he  could  cover 
in  six  hours,  and  at  this  moment  each  ought  to  be  traveling 
toward  New  York." 

"Suppose,"  said  Lurgan,  looking  at  King,  "that  we 
meet  here  at  four  this  afternoon."  Then  addressing 
Tyndale,  "  You  will  have  some  information  by  that  time  ?  " 

"Yes;  I  shall  have  heard  from  all  before  that." 

King  and  Lurgan  walked  toward  Wall  Street ;  after  they 
had  gone  some  distance  in  silence,  Lurgan  exclaimed, 
"It's  magnificent,  Jim!" 

"I  find  the  manufacturing  business  extremely  inter 
esting  and  exciting.  I  thought  at  one  time  that  Wall 
Street  and  racing  included  everything  blood-stirring,  but 
I  was  wrong,  it  would  seem." 

"  You  see  what  the  force-germ  is  going  to  do  for  us,  as, 
frankly,  I  did  not  like  the  idea  of  going  broke  ?  " 

"  I  see  that  side  too,  and  of  course,  I'm  rather  pleased 
this  morning  that  I  don't  have  to  worry  about  my  funeral 
expenses." 

"  But  say,  Jim,  what  do  you  make  of  John  in  connection 
with  the  European  contracts?  Look  at  the  water  front 
this  minute;  it's  choked  with  barrels  ready  for  shipment. 
I  confess  I'm  at  a  loss." 

"You  will  remember  that  I  once  told  you  that  I  did 
not  always  understand  John,"  and  here  King  smiled 
reminiscently,  "  and  I  do  not  pretend  to  understand  him 
now.  But  I'll  put  up  my  best  horse  against  a  dinner 
that  he  delivers  deodorized  oil." 


Ashes  to  Ashes  277 

With  surprise,  Lurgan  cried,  "  But,  Jim,  how  can  he  ?  " 

"Look  at  the  power  of  that  liquid  that  Tyndale  knew 
about.  How  do  you  or  I  know  but  what  John  possesses 
another  *  something '  that  can  do  the  work  of  the  mill  ?  " 

"That's  so,"  murmured  Lurgan,  and  the  old  man 
walked  on  in  silence  for  a  bit.  He  was  thinking  deeply; 
his  strong,  red  face  and  brown  eyes  were  aglow  with 
the  surging  thoughts  that  thronged  his  subtle  brain. 
Turning  to  King  he  said,  "  I  love  him  —  love  him  as 
much  as  I  do  Catherine." 

King,  finding  Lurgan's  hand  with  his,  squeezed  it. 
"  We  are  two  lucky  old  men,  for  he  is  neither  trickster 
nor  charlatan  and  he  will  carry  us  to  honored  graves." 

"And  he  doesn't  know  how  to  quit;  just  doesn't  know 
how,"  Lurgan  laughed  joyously. 

The  two  men  then  and  there  resigned  their  fate,  as 
they  had  their  wealth,  to  John  Worth.  At  the  corner  of 
the  street,  where  they  separated,  King  said,  "They," 
meaning  Oil,  "  must  be  getting  wise  by  now  ?  " 

"  Or  foolish ! "  cried  Lurgan. 

In  the  Oil  Building,  even  at  this  early  hour,  for  it  was 
shortly  after  nine  o'clock,  every  one  was  more  or  less 
stunned;  the  manager  of  their  Jersey  works  had  come 
over  to  tell  his  distressing  story.  At  daylight  he  had 
been  sent  for  by  the  night  watch,  and  when  he  arrived  at 
the  works,  he  found  all  the  machinery  in  ashes  and  the 
yards  and  roads  awash  with  oil.  Going  at  once  to  the 
immense  tanks,  he  saw  a  round  hole  in  the  earth  where 
they  had  been  buried,  and  in  some  cases  the  oil  slowly 
percolating  into  the  ground.  Rather  dazed  he  went  back 
to  the  refinery,  only  to  find  that  it  was  all  too  true  —  every 
bit  of  machinery  had  dissolved. 

He  followed  the  pipe  line  for  a  mile  or  two  and  found 


278  The  Mechanic 

that  it,  too,  was  gone,  and  then  he  said  to  the  gaping  men 
who  had  followed  him,  "  I'll  go  over  to  the  Oil  Building, 
for  they  couldn't  understand  this  story  if  telephoned." 

Shortly  afterward  he  was  in  Playfellow's  large  office 
building  recounting  to  a  secretary  what  had  happened. 
The  man  at  first  merely  smiled,  concluding  that  the  man 
ager  was  off  his  head  from  some  liquid  other  than  oil. 
But  a  call  on  the  telephone  from  Pittsburg,  followed 
by  much  the  same  story,  made  the  secretary  more 
considerate,  so  that  when  Playfellow  arrived,  the  man 
ager  was  at  once  ushered  into  the  august  presence,  and 
again  told  what  he  had  seen.  Almost  immediately,  tele 
phone  messages  telling  the  same  story  in  other  words, 
came  in  from  Syracuse  and  Boston,  and  Playfellow  felt 
a  great  terror  taking  possession  of  him,  and  said  to  his 
Jersey  manager,  "I'll  go  with  you  at  once  and  look  at 
this  myself,  for  it's  impossible  to  believe  everything  you 
tell  me.  There  must  be  some  mistake." 

"  I  wish,  sir,  I  were  dreaming ;  but  it's  too  true,  I  assure 
you." 

They  departed  in  a  tug  for  Jersey  City.  In  less  than 
an  hour  Playfellow  saw  the  destruction,  not  only  of  his 
works,  but  of  the  oil  tanks  and  pipe  lines,  and  when  these 
startling  facts  reached  a  common  center  in  his  brain  and 
diffused  a  definite  thought  as  to  his  great  property  else 
where,  he  grew  cold  and  palsied.  "Take  me  back  to 
New  York,"  he  cried  hoarsely.  When  he  reached  his 
office  he  found  Bethune,  Whitehead,  and  others  in  his 
room,  all  discussing  the  awful  catastrophe.  It  was  now 
known,  by  telephone  and  telegrams,  that  every  tank,  pipe 
line,  and  pumping  station  had  suffered  the  same  mysterious 
blight. 

When  these  facts  were  communicated  to  Playfellow  he 


Ashes  to  Ashes  279 

fell  weakly  into  his  chair  and  mopped  the  perspiration 
from  his  brow.  In  a  few  minutes  he  recovered  himself 
and  rose.  "  Who  will  deliver  this  fellow  Worth  to  me  so 
that  I  may  kill  him  ?  "  he  hissed.  The  humor  of  his  ques 
tion  did  not  strike  him,  but  wily  Bethune  turned  around 
and  smiled  at  the  wall. 

Playfellow,  becoming  more  excited,  cried,  "  It  was  he 
who  did  this,"  and  his  eyes  issued  a  challenge  to  those 
about  him,  but  no  one  answered;  and  then  he  went  on, 
"Bethune,  write  telegrams  at  once  to  all  our  companies 
to  arrest  those  pipe  breakers  and  I  will  sign  them."  And 
to  the  Jersey  manager  he  said,  "I  have  been  betrayed. 
Notwithstanding  what  the  night  watchmen  say,  I  believe 
acid  has  been  poured  on  all  our  machinery,  and  of  course 
their  silence  has  been  bought.  Now  hurry  back  to  the 
works  and  arrest  our  men,  and  notify  the  police  as  well. 
We  must  find  these  miscreants." 

The  telegrams  were  sent,  and  Pentner,  the  manager, 
departed;  not,  however,  to  swear  out  warrants  against  his 
own  men,  for  he  believed  their  story,  as  he  also  believed 
that  other  story  that  was  insinuating  itself  into  the  souls 
of  many,  that  John  Worth  was  not  altogether  human. 
For  had  he  not  met  Hiram  Bidding  the  night  before  at 
the  union  on  a  discussion  of  wages,  and  afterwards  had 
not  Bidding  said  in  his  New  England  way,  "I  tell  you 
what,  Pentner,  he  is  not  of  our  stuff,  no,  not  of  the  same 
material.  Now,  frankly,  we  wanted  to  burn  your  place, 
just  to  show  there  wasn't  any  hard  feelings,  but  he  didn't 
cotton  to  that  notion.  Said  it  was  old,  or  something  like 
that,  and  then  he  wouldn't  talk  any  more;  just  smiled 
pleasantly,  but  somehow  I  felt  relieved  when  I  saw  him 
smile,  and  I  told  the  other  boys  not  to  worry,  for  John 
would  fix  things  a  new  way,  and  I  calculate  he  will  one 


280  The  Mechanic 

day  soon  —  yes,  that's  how  I  sensed  it  —  and  it  wouldn't 
surprise  me  a  bit  to  wake  up  some  morning  and  find  your 
works  gone,  and  without  there  being  a  fire  either.  Just 
gone,  is  how  I  figure  it.  I  tell  you  what,  he  is  not  alto 
gether  of  this  world.  When  he  wants  machinery  to  do  a 
bit  of  work,  why,  he  gets  it  out  of  his  head ;  but  those  are 
little  things. 

"Look  at  steel,  copper,  and  oil,  the  world's  greatest 
products, — all  his.  Aye,  Pentner,  if  I  were  you  I'd  quit 
Playfellow,  for  he  and  all  his  works  are  doomed.  How 
do  I  know  ?  I  don't  know,  but  I  feel  it,  as  all  the  others 
do;  we  are  sure  that  Playfellow  has  run  his  cursed 
course." 

Pentner  hurried  to  Jersey,  firm  in  the  belief  that,  with 
the  aid  of  some  invisible  power,  Worth  had  crushed  Oil 
by  one  staggering  blow.  Questioning  all  the  night  watch 
only  made  Bidding's  words  stand  out  in  greater  relief, 
for  the  men  said  in  tones  that  could  not  be  doubted, 
"No  one  was  here,  not  a  living  soul,  but  ourselves." 
When  Pentner  was  called  on  the  telephone  at  one  o'clock 
to  give  an  account  of  his  work  since  morning,  he  answered, 
"  I  have  notified  the  police  and  they  are  investigating. 
I  have  not  sworn  out  warrants  against  our  men,  because 
I  believe  their  story;  if  you  find  anything  wrong  in  this 
statement  I  am  willing  to  quit  now." 

"Hold  the  wire,"  the  secretary  replied,  and  going  to 
Playfellow  he  reported  what  Pentner  had  said,  and  Play 
fellow,  flushing  angrily,  cried,  "Discharge  the  fellow  at 
once." 

Later  in  the  day  Pentner  went  to  Bidding  and  said, 
"I'm  bounced.  Can  I  get  connected  with  Worth,  for 
you  know  I'm  pretty  well  up  on  oil  and  its  by-products  ?  " 

Bidding,  knowing  that  Pentner  would  sooner  or  later 


Ashes  to  Ashes  281 

find  out  about  the  men  sent  out  by  Tyndale,  replied,  "  I 
will  see  Radley  to-day  and,  though  I  can't  promise,  yet 
I  sort  o'  think  you  will  be  on  our  pay-rolls  to-morrow." 

This  dismissal  of  Pentner  received  the  attention  of  the 
newspapers  with  the  news  of  the  destruction  of  Play 
fellow's  Jersey  property,  for  when  he  was  discharged 
there  were  many  reporters  viewing  the  havoc,  and  one  of 
them  interviewed  him.  What  Bidding  had  said  about 
John  was  featured  and  went  the  round  of  the  press,  and 
the  keynote  of  this  particular  story  was  superstition. 

When  Lurgan  and  King  arrived  at  the  John  Worth 
Bank  at  four  o'clock  the  papers  did  not  have  the  complete 
story  of  the  wreck;  that  was  to  come  later.  Both  of 
John's  partners  were  anxious  to  hear  the  inside  facts, 
and  when  they  were  seated  in  the  board  room,  which 
was  also  Willie's  office,  Tyndale  was  sent  for  and  at 
once  he  began  to  read  his  cypher  messages.  After  these 
were  all  explained,  Lurgan  cried,  "Do  I  understand 
that  everything  came  off  without  a  hitch  ?  " 

"No  hitch  anywhere,  and  all  gone  to  ashes,"  replied 
Tyndale,  with  a  smile.  "It's  beautiful  and  very  satis 
factory.  Oh,  yes,  Mr.  Bethune  called  this  afternoon  for 
the  amiable  purpose  of  telling  me  that  he  was  going  to 
bring  an  action  for  millions  against  Worth,  and  would  I,  as 
Worth  was  absent,  accept  service.  It  was  wholly  undig 
nified  and  unprofessional,  but  I  had  to  laugh  at  him,  and 
I  am  afraid  I  annoyed  him  greatly  by  looking  at  his 
proposed  action  as  a  joke." 

King,  who  was  afraid  of  the  law,  said,  "  But  isn't  that 
serious  ?  " 

"  Not  at  all.  I  showed  the  clever  Bethune  very  clearly 
that,  by  evidence  in  our  possession,  we  could  put  Play 
fellow  behind  the  bars  for  life.  I  also  intimated  that  we 


282  The  Mechanic 

could  end  his  own  career  as  a  lawyer.  Playfellow  is  just 
rattled  and  excited.  It  is  his  first  knockout  blow  and  he 
doesn't  like  it.  Of  course  you  know,"  addressing  Mr. 
King,  "that  my  work  has  mainly  been  to  follow  up  the 
Pike  diary,  and  through  it  I  can  prove  that  Playfellow  is 
the  greatest  scoundrel  that  ever  lived." 

When  Bethune  had  told  Playfellow  of  his  talk  with 
Tyndale,  the  old  man  protested,  "But  I  always  worked 
for  the  good  of  the  country,  and  in  doing  my  appointed 
tasks,  which  were  always  approved  by  the  Almighty,  I 
had  to  do  things  that  common  mortals  didn't  understand ! " 

Bethune  smarted  from  the  sneer  in  Tyndale's  words, 
and  when  he  had  said,  "And  you  look  out,  also,  Mr. 
Bethune,  as  we  are  powerful  enough  to  have  the  bar 
association  look  into  the  Utah  land  deal  and  how  the 
squatters  were  sworn  or  not  sworn,  whichever  you  like 
best."  Though  very  clever,  Bethune  was  a  coward  and 
he  had  made  no  retort  to  Tyndale.  Now  looking  at 
Playfellow  he  said  impressively,  "If  you  insist  on  an 
action,  you  must  get  some  one  else." 

"I  have  summoned  three  experts  to  meet  me  here  at 
five,"  Playfellow  replied  quietly,  "  and  they  are  here  now. 
Come  and  hear  what  they  have  to  say,  and  afterwards 
we  can  reach  a  decision." 

"Well,  gentlemen,  what  have  you  made  of  it?"  ner 
vously  asked  the  man  of  Oil  on  entering  the  board-room, 
where  Professors  Stevens  and  Emerson,  and  Charles 
Graub,  the  iron  expert,  were  awaiting  him. 

"Mystery!"  answered  Graub.  "Every  pound  of  iron 
is  gone  from  the  whole  system  and  nothing  left  but  dirt 
tunnels  where  the  pipes  ran.  Tanks,  too.  Read  these 
telegrams  which  your  secretary  gave  me." 

"  Yes,  and  my  private  ones  are  the  same !    It's  awful, 


Ashes  to  Ashes  283 

awful !  It  cannot  be  nature  —  or  God,"  he  added  fear 
fully.  "  He  wouldn't  do  that  to  me.  What  an  unmerited 
blow !  What  do  you  make  of  it,  Professor  Stevens  ?  " 

"My  colleague  and  I  cannot  agree,  Mr.  Playfellow. 
The  specimens  of  earth  that  we  have  been  permitted  to 
examine  show  strong  traces  of  iron  salts  and  a  great  deal 
of  carbon,  but  in  weight  they  are  far  below  that  of  the 
iron  that  Professor  Emerson  believes  them  to  have  ab 
sorbed.  On  the  other  hand,  the  escaped  oil  is  reddish  in 
color  and  gives  clearly  an  iron  reaction,  which  confirms 
me  in  the  theory  that  some  sudden  change  in  the  earth's 
oil  pockets  has  given  the  oil  a  corrosive  property  which, 
coupled  with  an  appetite  for  the  resulting  product,  has 
annihilated  your  pipe  lines." 

"  Yes  —  yes ;  but  surely  such  a  change  would  be  uni 
versal,  and  not  a  single  pipe  of  the  Independent  Kansas 
system  has  been  touched.  No,  it  isn't  nature;  I  know  it's 
an  enemy." 

"  But,  my  dear  Mr.  Playfellow,  there  is  no  known  sub 
stance,  no  force  within  all  the  range  of  the  knowledge  of 
man,  that  could  be  used  to  work  such  havoc.  My  con 
frere,  Professor  Stevens,  has  defined  his  theory,  with 
which  I  disagree,  but  has  not  fully  set  forth  mine,  which 
I  must  now  hesitate  to  give,  if  you  are  correctly  informed 
regarding  the  immunity  of  the  Kansas  lines." 

"Yes,  Professor  Emerson,  my  information  is  correct 
and,  moreover,  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  every  foot 
of  Independent  pipe  line  in  the  country  has  been  spared, 
while  every  inch  of  mine  is  gone.  It  is  terrible  —  ter 
rible  !  There  is  but  one  who  would  adopt  such  a  desperate 
revenge.  Worth  would,  had  he  the  power!" 

"But,  Mr.  Playfellow,"  cried  Graub,  "he  is  a  strange 
man  and  master  of  many  secrets.  We,  of  the  steel  busi- 


284  The  Mechanic 

ness  have  found  that  out.  Watch  him.  I  say  he  is  the 
very  devil  in  handling  metals." 

"This  is  all  very  well,  gentlemen,  but  you  haven't 
told  me  how  I  am  to  get  my  pipe  lines  back,  nor  how  I 
am  to  save  the  ocean  of  oil  that  has  flooded  the  country. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  not  a  single  scientist  consulted  this 
day  has  been  able  to  suggest  anything  of  the  slightest 
value  to  me.  Good  day,  gentlemen.  By  the  way,  when 
you  go  out,  please  say  that  I  grieve  deeply  for  the  poor 
who  must  suffer  because  of  the  forced  closing  of  our 
works.  The  public  will  now  see  to  what  length  un 
scrupulous  business  methods  are  carried  against  our 
company." 

When  they  had  departed,  Bethune  said,  "  You  see  how 
futile  it  would  be  to  begin  a  lawsuit,  and  if  my  opinion  is 
worth  anything,  I  urge  strongly  that  you  abandon  that 
idea." 

But  Playfellow  only  shook  his  head,  as  he  still  felt 
that  some  one  would  be  captured  who  could  bring  home 
the  destruction  of  his  property  to  John  Worth,  and  he 
remained  at  his  office  until  late,  hoping  to  receive  word 
from  some  one  of  his  numerous  subsidiary  companies 
that  they  had  discovered  a  pipe  wrecker.  But  the  hours 
wore  on,  bringing  nothing  but  the  tale  of  disaster,  told 
even  more  definitely. 

The  following  morning  the  newspapers  had  the  com 
plete  story  of  the  dissolution,  and  the  public  marveled  as 
it  read,  for  beyond  the  bare  story  of  the  utter  annihi 
lation,  nothing  was  known.  Many  journals  contained 
interviews  with  scientific  men,  but  out  of  the  ocean  of 
words  nothing  was  gained,  for  nothing  definite  was  placed 
alongside  of  the  word  destruction  made  reality.  And 
now  the  people  read  what  Pentner  had  said,  and  the  name 


Ashes  to  Ashes  285 

of  John  Worth  was  in  every  paper  and  each  wrote  in  its 
own  way  of  his  wonderful  attainments.  They  all  knew, 
however,  that  Worth  was  in  Texas,  busy  shipping  oil  to 
Europe,  and  apparently  had  no  more  to  do  with  the  wiping 
out  of  Playfellow's  property  than  any  man  in  the  Street. 
Surely  it  was  a  strange  and  appalling  situation,  and 
perhaps  it  was  little  wonder  that  the  people  were  dis 
turbed.  Every  element  of  mystery  seemed  to  exist  in 
the  situation,  as  every  one  appeared  satisfied  that  some 
means  beyond  the  ordinary  had  been  employed. 

By  evening,  a  discussion  such  as  had  never  been  known 
before  was  precipitated;  it  revolved  in  small  circles  at 
first,  and  afterwards  extended  until  it  embraced  the  nation, 
and  out  of  it  rose  the  name  of  Worth,  endued  with  un 
known  powers.  The  gist  of  it  was,  "He  has  suffered 
through  these  people;  they  robbed  him  of  father,  mother, 
and  uncle,  and  then  they  burnt  his  mills  and  his  people. 
He  is  now  retaliating,  and  on  the  morrow  of  some  day, 
he  will  reach  out  for  others  that  kill  and  bribe,  for  did  he 
not  promise  such  reward  ?  " 

As  well  as  their  awe  for  his  infallibility,  for  that  is  the 
word  which  was  used  in  connection  with  his  name,  men 
gave  him  their  esteem  for  his  character,  because,  without 
the  ability  to  bring  it  about,  they  had  always  looked 
forward  to  the  cleanliness  which  he  was  now  introduc 
ing  into  the  business  world. 

During  this  period,  so  short  in  hours,  Playfellow  learned 
that  his  little  brief  authority  had  passed  and  gone.  No 
more  sanctimonious  appeal  to  and  verbose  patronage  of 
God  would  be  tolerated,  while  he  was  starving  thousands 
and  ruining  countless  industries.  The  great  Money-King 
of  America  had  been  deposed.  He  had  been  made  to 
realize  how  weakly  human  he  was  when  brought  face  to 


286  The  Mechanic 

face  with  powers  beyond  his  ken,  and  this  feeling  was 
even  more  strongly  forced  home  to  him  by  a  cable  from 
Marsh,  which  read,  "  Bank  served  notice  to-day  would 
foreclose  in  three  days  if  notes  were  not  paid." 

On  receipt  of  this  cablegram,  Playfellow  saw  a  number 
of  bank  managers,  but  they  all  refused  to  aid  him  with  a 
loan  now  that  his  pipe  lines  were  destroyed.  It  was  a 
situation  that  was  indeed  desperate.  To  Bethune  he 
said,  "  We  must  raise  the  money  somehow,  as  we  can  pay 
it  all  back  in  ten  days  when  Worth's  oil  is  opened." 
Bethune  answered  that  he  would  try,  but  his  efforts  were 
unavailing. 

Two  of  the  three  days  had  passed  when  Willie  heard 
of  Playfellow's  attempt  to  provide  funds  to  meet  the  note. 
He  jumped  into  a  cab  and  in  a  few  moments  was  closeted 
with  Neil  Mannering,  who  finally  said,  "It's  a  bet  on 
John's  ability  on  your  part,  as  of  course  the  Midland 
doesn't  stand  to  lose  anything.  I'll  tell  Low  to  buy  the 
notes  through  the  Island  Bank.  But  are  you  right  ?  " 

"  Absolutely.  Listen.  John  shipped  east  a  lot  of  that 
cleansing  water  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  wash  the 
new  barrels  he  bought  on  the  outside.  Now,"  and  here 
Willie  read  again  John's  letter  which  had  come  through 
Tyndale,  "he  undoubtedly  has  a  way  of  painting,  if  I 
may  so  express  it,  each  barrel,  and  this  paint  deodorizes 
the  oil.  He  is  altogether  too  clever  a  man  not  to  say 
beaten,  if  he  were  beaten.  He  wouldn't  mislead  us  and 
so  I  am  positively  certain  that  he  will  deliver  that  which 
the  contracts  call  for,  and  I  want  those  notes  so  as  to  drive 
Playfellow  to  the  wall.  I  haven't  forgotten  what  he  did 
to  my  father  and  John,  and  I  also  want  all  the  property 
that  the  notes  cover,  for  Playfellow  has  put  up  everything 
he  owns  both  here  and  in  Europe." 


Ashes  to  Ashes  287 

"All  right,  Willie,  go  ahead;  I'll  telephone  Low  to 
attend  to  the  details,  and  the  notes  ought  to  be  in  our 
possession  within  an  hour  or  two." 

Strangely  elated,  Willie  went  back  to  his  bank  and  told 
Tyndale  what  he  had  done,  and  then  he  said,  "  Will  you 
go  to  Europe  ? " 

"No,  Radley,  my  work  is  about  through,  and  this  is 
only  a  large  detail  matter  anyway.  Send  Nichols;  he  is 
young,  clever,  and  a  hard  worker." 

"  All  right,  post  him  in  his  duties ;  but  say,  what  do  you 
think  of  it?" 

"It's  great,  and  I'll  watch  with  pleasure  how  you 
pound  him,  for  I'm  sure,  after  the  force-germ  episode, 
that  John  knows  his  business  and  that  he  will  deliver  to 
my  friend,  Mr.  Playfellow,  the  oil  that  he  wanted  so 
badly."  Tyndale  laughed  harshly  and  then  added, 
"  With  those  notes  he  gets  it  from  all  sides.  It's  a  lovely 
business  situation,  full  of  human  possibilities,  and  I 
think,  Radley,  that  you're  good  at  driving." 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

CUPS   OF   GOLD 

TUESDAY  Lurgan  received  a  telegram  from  John  dated 
Galveston,  which  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  do  con 
siderable  hustling  to  comply  with  its  orders.  The  mes 
sage  read,  "The  Eddy  broken  down;  secure  Cunarder. 
Also  see  Cassman  about  running  barrels  from  South  — 
passenger  time."  Knowing  how  important  the  matter 
was,  Lurgan  went  to  the  cable  office  and  arranged  to 
connect  with  the  Cunard  Company  in  Liverpool  through 
their  New  York  agents.  Then  going  to  Orchid  Brothers, 
the  representative  of  the  Cunard  Company,  he  told  them 
what  he  had  done  and  what  he  wanted. 

In  answer,  the  senior  member  of  the  firm  exclaimed, 
"  But  that's  our  new  turbine  vessel,  the  greyhound  of  the 
seas." 

"That's  why  I  want  her,  and  I'll  pay  you  any  price 
you  ask." 

"Of  course.  Mr.  Lurgan,  we  are  hauling  a  great  deal 
of  that  oil  and,  like  every  one  else,  we  are  excited  as  to 
the  opening  of  the  barrels,  so  I  will  do  what  I  can  for 
you.  How  long  will  it  take  the  cable  people  to  arrange 
their  connections  ?  " 

"  They  said  twenty  minutes." 

"You  are  certainly  in  a  hurry,"  answered  Orchid, 
smiling. 

Two  hours  later  Lurgan  had  secured  the  Turbina,  and 

288 


Cups  of  Gold  289 

then  he  called  up  Cassman  and  put  the  matter  before 
him. 

"  I  am  anxious  to  place  our  road  right  in  Worth's  eyes," 
replied  Cassman,  "and  you  may  depend  on  me  to  have 
that  oil  on  our  North  River  docks  by  Saturday  evening. 
I  suggest  that  you  place  the  Turbina  in  one  of  our  slips, 
to  facilitate  loading.  I'll  have  the  first  train  here  by 
day  after  to-morrow,  and  then  they  will  arrive  every  hour 
until  the  oil  is  all  in  New  York.  How  is  that  ?  " 

"  Splendid  —  splendid." 

"Have  your  oil  men  ready  to  load  the  vessel  and  she 
will  get  off  in  plenty  of  time  to  make  your  contract  good. 

Lurgan  telegraphed  John  what  he  had  accomplished, 
and  was  in  great  good  humor  when  he  saw  Willie,  and  to 
him  he  said  with  lively  satisfaction,  "It  takes  the  old 
men  to  do  things,  after  all." 

"Right  you  are,  Governor,"  replied  Willie,  smiling 
fondly  at  the  banker. 

On  Saturday  there  was  great  excitement  about  the 
docks,  and  every  one  was  watching  the  loading  of  the 
giant  Turbina,  whose  captain  had  told  John  not  to  rush 
as  he  could  make  Liverpool  in  less  than  five  days.  And 
when  the  vessel  backed  out  into  North  River  and 
started  majestically  on  her  course,  she  was  wished  success 
by  a  great  cheer  and  by  the  whistle  of  every  boat  in  the 
harbor. 

At  the  end  of  the  dock,  John  saw  the  vessel  disappear 
and  then  strode  toward  the  train  shed.  He  had  arrived 
in  the  city  with  the  last  load  of  oil,  and  was  met  by 
Willie,  who,  after  seeing  him,  had  very  little  to  say. 
John's  appearance  recalled  to  him  his  friend's  look  when 
they  had  met  at  The  Frenchman,  where  Tony  was  told  to 
clean  the  East  side  of  Playfellow's  sleuths. 


290  The  Mechanic 

Suspecting  that  John  was  worried  about  European  oil, 
Willie  said,  "  I  have  plenty  of  money  at  hand,  old  chap ; 
so  don't  let  the  thing  trouble  you." 

Passing  his  hand  over  his  brow,  John  smiled  sadly  and 
answered,  "  Oh,  the  oil  is  deodorized  all  right,  Willie." 

Then,  after  shaking  hands  with  Lurgan  and  King,  he 
hurried  to  the  Newark  local,  and  still  Willie  was  at  a  loss 
to  explain  the  trouble.  He  was  very  glad  to  hear 
definitely  that  the  oil  would  meet  the  requirements,  but 
he  was  bothered  about  John.  He  spoke  of  it  to  Lurgan 
and  King,  but  they  could  give  no  explanation. 

When  John  neared  his  home,  he  saw  Catherine  and  Jo 
coming  to  meet  him,  and  was  overcome  with  a  feeling  of 
abject  shame  at  meeting  his  wife.  Catherine,  who  had 
not  heard  from  her  husband  for  two  weeks,  had  wondered 
at  his  failure  to  write,  but  had  attributed  his  silence  to 
constant  work.  The  papers  had  reported  him  as  toiling 
night  and  day.  Now,  as  she  saw  him,  her  heart  was 
struck  with  fear,  for  his  eyes  looked  at  her  with  a  strange, 
wild  stare. 

When  they  were  alone  in  her  bedchamber,  he  remarked, 
with  great  restraint,  "I'm  afraid  I  haven't  always  been 
kind  to  you,  Catherine,  and  I'm  very  sorry." 

"But,  John,  you  have  been  kindness  itself!  What 
is  wrong  ?  " 

"  I  married  you,  dear,  to  hurt  your  father,"  he  answered, 
"  and  it  only  came  home  to  me  a  few  days  ago  how  cow 
ardly  I  was.  For  you  don't  fashion  well  with  the  word 
*  revenge,'  and  see  what  I  have  done  for  you." 

Taking  a  slip  of  paper  from  his  pocket  he  read  to  her 
a  paragraph,  stating  that  John  Worth  had  taken  Miss 
Lurgan  to  a  hotel,  where  they  had  remained  together  for 
the  two  days  before  Dr.  Sawyer  married  them. 


Cups  of  Gold  291 

Seeing  the  look  of  blank  hopelessness  on  her  husband's 
face,  Catherine  cried,  "  John  —  John !  Dr.  Sawyer  nailed 
that  lie  in  a  sermon  wherein  he  set  forth  the  truth.  I 
heard  from  Polly  that  the  story  was  started  by  the  Play 
fellows.  Believe  me,  that  wicked  story  is  dead  and  it 
did  not  hurt  me  anyway."  Still  seeing  his  misery,  she 
went  on,  "Dr.  Sawyer  told  me  the  day  before  we  were 
married  that  you  didn't  love  me;  in  fact,  he  hinted  about 
the  revenge  of  which  you  speak.  But  I  loved  you,  John, 
and  I  knew  you  loved  me,  so  that  began  and  ended  the 
matter  for  me." 

John  shook  his  head  and  cried,  "Catherine,  you  are  a 
noble  girl,  but  your  words  humiliate  me,  as  I  did  marry 
you  for  revenge.  And  lately,  when  your  father  spoke  to 
me  about  my  not  loving  you,  my  reply  was  cut  short  on 
account  of  Tyndale's  coming  into  the  room.  Then  I 
received  that  paper  and  my  life  has  been  a  hell  ever  since. 
For  the  lie  brought  home  to  me  how  basely  I  had  treated 
you." 

"  But  you  gave  me  my  honor,  John." 

"That  has  nothing  to  do  with  it." 

"  But  it  has !  Don't  you  see  that  making  me  holy  was 
hardly  an  act  to  put  beside  revenge  ?  What  is  it,  John  ? 
You  haven't  yet  laid  bare  your  heart,  or  what's  troubling 
you  ?  " 

With  knitted  brow  Catherine  looked  at  her  husband, 
trying  to  pierce  his  soul,  for  she  laid  no  weight  upon  the 
revenge  idea.  Long  ago  she  had  settled  that,  and  her 
confidence  had  never  since  been  betrayed  or  alarmed  by 
a  suspicious  thought,  and  yet  here  was  the  man  of  her 
soul  looking  at  her  hungrily.  Her  thoughts  went  back 
to  the  day  of  her  wedding,  and  quickly  spanned  the  years, 
but  she  could  see  no  shadow  or  act  that  would  help  her 


The  Mechanic 

toward  a  solution ;  all  was  clear  as  a  bright  summer's  day. 
John  had  worked  too  hard,  perhaps;  was  it  that?  But 
no,  there  was  the  stalwart  form,  robust  and  strong, 
obviously  waiting  for  condemnation.  The  burning 
thought  in  Catherine's  brain  was,  "How  can  I  bring 
him  rest  from  this  nightmare  —  this  weird  ghost  that  is 
tormenting  him  ?  " 

John  broke  into  her  thoughts  by  saying,  "Come, 
Catherine,  give  me  straight  words,  for  you  well  know  that 
I  haven't  been  honest  with  you.  Dr.  Sawyer  did  not  tell 
you  all.  Haven't  you  wondered  why  he  has  never  come 
to  our  house  ?  Listen.  He  told  me  that  he  would  never 
take  me  by  the  hand  if  I  insisted  upon  marrying  you  for 
revenge,  and  I  could  not  gainsay  his  words  nor  did  I 
hesitate  in  marrying.  Come,  come,  Catherine,  you  know 
I  acted  the  part  of  a  coward." 

As  he  spoke,  a  ray  of  light  came  to  Catherine,  and  she 
answered : 

"Let  us  go  back.  You  know  when  you  kissed  your 
'picture,'  John,  and  then  you  kissed  me  again,  and 
I  realized  that  you  were  lord  of  my  soul,  and  that," 
and  Catherine's  face  took  on  a  rosier  hue,  "  I  was  life  of 
your  life  to  you.  I  realized  by  many,  so  many  of  your 
acts,  that  I  was  your  ideal  of  womanhood.  Many  times 
at  night  when  you  thought  I  was  asleep  you  have  kissed 
your  *  picture,'  and  your  shoulder  has  always  been  my 
pillow.  Often  you  have  drawn  me  to  you  with  those 
strong  arms  of  yours,  and  my  heart  has  overflowed  with 
great  joy.  I  have  said,  '  God  is  good  to  give  me  so  much 
love.'  Then  came  the  big  business  enterprises,  and  at 
night  you  would  tell  me  of  your  hopes,  and  in  your  hopes 
I  read  your  love  for  others  —  for  those  who  worked  hard 
for  their  living  wage  —  and  I  would  say,  '  God  is  good  to 


Cups  of  Gold  293 

give  me  such  a  man.'  Then  came  the  steel  suit,  and 
afterwards,  when  father  relented,  and  you,  keeping  my 
wish  ever  before  you,  drew  him  back  to  the  road  of 
strong  men,  I  cried,  'God  is  indeed  good  to  me.'  Then 
came  the  little  amber-colored  pool  and  our  promise  to 
keep  its  secret  for  Jo,  that  he  might  use  it  as  a  lever  for 
those  who  could  not  struggle  themselves,  and  again  I  said, 
'  God  is  good.' 

"  Beyond  all  things  I  prize  our  walks  in  the  great  woods 
by  the  little  pool,  for  there  you  would  carry  me  over  the 
rough  spots,  and  at  night,  when  I  rested  beside  you  in  the 
grim  silence,  I  could  fully  grasp  the  beauty  of  your  love. 
To  please  you  I  went  into  society,  and  liked  it  only 
because  you  found  in  my  dresses  so  many  pictures  to 
wonder  at  lovingly.  And  always,  always,  I  said,  '  God  is 
good  to  give  me  so  much  love.' " 

Looking  at  the  loved  face,  Catherine  saw  the  eyes 
become  clear  and  the  hopeless  expression  give  way  to 
one  of  wonder,  and  she  realized  that  she  was  opening 
her  way  through  John's  brain  to  his  heart,  and  she  con 
tinued,  "And  when  Jo  came,  I  was  the  very  happiest 
woman  in  the  world,  as  I  have  been  since  and  always 
will  be.  You  are  so  true,  John,  and  your  love  is  so  strong ! 
To  me  you  are  the  symbol  of  love,  as  to  your  men  you  are 
the  symbol  of  hope. 

"When  I  thought  of  what  good  old  Dr.  Sawyer  said, 
I  smiled  because  in  my  heart  there  was  another,  yours,  and 
in  yours  I  see  mine,"  and  Catherine,  twining  her  arms 
about  John's  neck,  and  gazing  into  his  soul,  cried,  "  You 
owe  the  doctor  an  apology  for  telling  a  story,  for  you  loved 
me  then,  John,  as  madly  as  I  loved  you."  Her  lips  touched 
his  and  she  whispered,  "  You  know  it  now,  don't  you  ?  " 

And  he  crushed  her  to  him,  saying,  "That's  it;  I  love 


294  The  Mechanic 

you  so  madly,  Catherine,  that  I  was  afraid,  from  what 
your  father  said,  that  — " 

"That  I  had  complained,  not  by  words,  but  by  little 
things,  eh?" 

"  God  is  good  to  me,  too,  dear,"  he  exclaimed,  kissing 
her  again  and  again. 

"  John,  I  have  often  been  amused  at  father's  watching 
your  every  act  at  home.  He  does  not  know,  dear,  how 
reserved  you  are  before  others,  and  I  could  not  lay  bare 
to  him  that  your  treatment  of  me  — "  and  Catherine 
stopped  and  thought  for  a  moment,  till,  with  his  eyes  on 
hers,  she  continued,  "was  so  holy  that  I  still  think  of 
myself  as  a  virgin." 

"You  are  one,  my  love." 

"It  is  that  which  makes  life  so  beautiful." 

And  John  pressed  his  wife  to  him  and  said,  "  You  are 
a  wonderful  flower,  and  it's  new  life  to  my  soul  that  you 
won't  see  the  ugly  mind  that  tried  to  warp  a  heart  that 
has  always  loved  you.  I  suppose  I  thought  too  much  of 
my  wrongs,  but  that  is  all  past  now.  That  is,  the  disease 
of  the  mind  has  passed,  for  it  only  dawned  on  my  thinking 
brain  on  my  last  trip  how  precious  you  were  to  me,  and 
that  in  you  I  possessed  the  magic  of  the  world.  I  shall 
drop  in  on  Dr.  Sawyer  to-morrow,"  laughed  John,  "  and, 
after  confession,  I'll  ask  him  to  dinner." 

Later,  when  they  went  downstairs  to  find  Jo  and  his 
grandfather,  to  satisfy  the  old  man,  John  picked  his  wife 
up  and  kissed  her  lovingly.  Lurgan  started  and  an 
astonished  smile  broke  over  his  face.  Catherine,  blush 
ing,  went  to  her  father  and  whispered,  "  He  has  loved  me 
always,  father." 

Later,  after  explaining  the  circumstances,  Lurgan  said 
to  King,  "I  am  an  old  fool." 


Cups  of  Gold  295 

"  He  is  a  quaint  kind  of  devil,  and  she  is  wholly  lovable," 
answered  King. 

When  John  reached  his  office  the  next  day,  Willie  saw 
again  the  man  he  knew  and  loved,  and  John's  happy 
blue  eyes  made  him  say,  "What  was  wrong  with  you 
yesterday  ?  " 

"  Sleeplessness,  I  suppose.  At  any  rate,  it  was  good  to 
get  home;  but  say,  Willie,  what  is  this  I  hear  about  you 
and  Polly?" 

After  that  story  was  told  they  began  to  talk  business, 
and  it  was  planned  that  Independent  refineries  were  to 
be  established  in  nine  of  the  large  cities  of  America,  and 
six  in  Europe.  As  he  departed,  John  said,  "  When  you 
have  the  figures  ready,  call  a  meeting  and  we  will  talk 
this  matter  over  with  Lurgan  and  King." 

Tyndale  was  entering  the  building  as  John  went  out. 
And  he  afterwards  confessed  to  Willie  that  he  was 
horribly  afraid  until  John  said  pleasantly,  "It  came  up 
to  your  expectations,  perhaps  ?  " 

"Realized  every  wish!"  responded  Tyndale,  gaily. 

When  barrel  day  came  around,  Playfellow  was  in  his 
office,  and  with  him  were  his  numerous  retainers.  All 
were  anxious  over  the  outcome,  though  each  was  bolstering 
up  his  courage  with  words.  The  belief  of  the  man  on  the 
street,  that  John  Worth  was  delivering  deodorized  oil, 
had  somehow  permeated  the  brain  of  each  and  would 
not  be  gainsaid.  And  soon  the  cables  began  to  deliver 
their  messages,  and  all  told  of  deodorized  oil  as  per  con 
tract.  They  varied  only  in  wording  and,  with  the  last 
one,  Playfellow  knew  that  he  was  broken.  But  the  worst 
blow  came  the  following  morning  in  a  letter  from  the 
John  Worth  Bank,  which  stated  that  they  held  his  note 
and  that  if  it  were  not  paid  in  three  days  they  would 


296  The  Mechanic 

foreclose.  After  a  sleepless,  haunted  night,  this  seemed 
to  break  Playfellow  absolutely.  His  frame  shook  with 
weak  sobs  and  he  fell  in  a  shuddering  heap. 

The  next  day  he  had  revived  sufficiently  to  accost 
Lurgan  on  the  street  and  whine,  "You  must  provide 
for  me;  I  have  not  a  penny.  God  will  bless  you." 

Lurgan  flushed  with  anger  at  being  stopped,  but  a  note 
in  Playfellow's  voice  held  the  angry  words  that  rose  to 
his  lips,  and  he  said  instead,  "Write  the  John  Worth 
Bank,"  and  then  strode  on. 

At  the  meeting,  which  was  held  to  decide  as  to  their 
future  policy,  after  explaining  about  the  Independents, 
John  said,  "These  will  be  supplied  with  our  deodorized 
oil,  which  is  now  at  its  old  price  of  two  dollars  a  barrel 
to  the  public,  but  the  important  point  is  that  with  the 
establishment  of  these  Independents  our  income  will 
never  go  beyond  a  certain  fixed  amount.  You  see,  then, 
that  my  plan  doesn't  mean  great  riches  for  us,  such  as 
Playfellow  possessed  at  one  time.  Now  what  do  you 
say?" 

The  others  were  in  accord  with  John's  scheme  and 
frankly  expressed  their  approval  of  it.  The  speaker, 
turning  to  Tyndale  said,  "  I  ask  again  if  you  will  manage 
our  oil  for  the  Northwest  ?  " 

"  I  appreciate  your  kindness,  Mr.  Worth,  but  as  I  told 
you  before,  I'm  going  back  to  law." 

"Is  there  anything  else?"  asked  John. 

Willie,  handing  John  a  paper,  with  a  peculiar  emphasis 
said,  "Only  this." 

After  looking  at  the  paper,  John  read  it  aloud.  It 
was  the  Playfellow  application  for  help.  And  Lurgan, 
who  was  watching  his  son-in-law  closely,  saw  a  subtle 
hardening  change  take  place  in  his  features.  King, 


Cups  of  Gold  297 

who  knew  John  better  than  Lurgan,  noted  the  iron  set 
of  the  body  and,  rising  from  his  chair,  walked  towards 
the  window.  All  smiled,  for  there  was  no  ticker  in  the 
John  Worth  Bank,  and  when  the  old  man  appreciated 
the  force  of  his  habit,  he  returned  to  his  chair  smiling  too, 
and  in  his  velvety  voice  declared: 

"All  these  works  are  yours,  John,  I  am  merely  an 
attachment,  so  I  will  vote  with  you  on  Playfellow's 
appeal." 

John  looked  at  Lurgan,  who,  moved  resistlessly  by  the 
appeal  in  John's  eyes,  said,  "  I'll  join  in." 

"My  father  called  on  Playfellow,  and  then  wrote  him 
from  this  very  street  asking  for  help.  And  a  secretary 
curtly  replied  that  his  application  was  filed."  And  then 
looking  at  John,  Willie  said,  in  a  hard,  snarling  voice, 
"I  vote  against  giving  him  any  help." 

"I  promised  to  destroy  this  man  Playfellow,"  said 
John,  "  and  of  course  I  mean  to  keep  my  word.  I  should 
have  killed  him  long  since,  but  that  way  is  meaningless. 
I  shall  now  see  that  he  is  made  to  understand  what 
starvation  means,  and  he  will  also  find  the  narrow  boun 
daries  attached  to  a  lost  soul.  I  suspect  he  would  like  it 
if  we  arrested  him  for  murder,  as  in  the  four  walls  of  jail 
he  would  be  free  from  the  jeers  of  the  people.  But  I 
purpose  seeing  that  he  walks  on  the  street  where  he  will 
find  the  life  that  he  has  given  to  many."  Then  John 
wrote  across  the  application,  "Refused,"  and  handing  the 
paper  to  Willie,  said,  "I  think  you  ought  to  mail  this 
back  to  him  together  with  the  reply  to  your  father's 
letter  asking  for  help." 

Later  that  day,  in  a  Pullman  car,  Tyndale  drew  from 
his  pocket  a  photograph  of  his  sister  and,  looking  at  the 
dear  features,  said,  "At  last  I  am  satisfied." 


298  The  Mechanic 

After  the  old  men  left  the  bank  they  walked  toward 
North  River  on  their  way  to  Catherine,  and  Lurgan  said, 
"He  is  hard,  Jim." 

"He  is  just,  you  mean,"  corrected  King.  "See  what 
his  action  means  to  the  other  bribers.  Look  again  at 
John  Worth  as  a  principle.  I  tell  you  what,  Jo,  I  like 
his  way  of  destroying  the  Red  Prince  of  Bribery,  as  I  like 
his  way  of  giving  the  wage-earners  a  chance.  Again  I  say, 
he  is  merely  just  and  logical." 

Lurgan,  who  had  put  forward  his  observation  merely 
to  draw  out  King,  said  happily,  "  At  any  rate  I  love  him, 
and  yes,  he  has  brought  business  to  straight  paths.  And 
say,  it's  going  to  be  great  fun  showing  him  Europe !  We 
are  to  be  away  for  a  whole  year,  and  you  and  Willie  will 
have  to  run  things." 

"Nowadays  I  find  business  very  interesting,  and  en 
gaging." 

A  few  days  later  King  bade  the  Worths  and  Lurgan 
good-by  and  with  Willie  walked  to  the  bank.  As  they 
entered  the  board-room  he  asked,  "  What  do  we  do  ?  " 

"Until  John  returns  let  us  mark  time,  and  just  keep 
things  moving.  He  is  my  inspiration." 

And  the  old  man,  flicking  the  ash  from  his  cigar,  said 
quietly,  "  And  mine." 

#*-**#-*-3£-3f;£ 

A  pedestrian  slowly  mounted  a  foot-hill  in  Southern 
California,  and  turning  an  angle  of  the  road,  his  eyes 
were  held  by  a  beautiful  valley  dotted  with  great  trees, 
and  below  him  he  heard  the  murmur  of  a  brook.  Resting 
a  moment  on  a  mossy  bank  to  grasp  the  full  beauty  of 
the  scene,  he  noted  a  house  painted  white,  with  green 
shutters  and  a  deep  veranda.  As  he  looked  more  care 
fully  he  saw  children  playing.  "How  beautiful!"  he 


Cups  of  Gold  299 

exclaimed  aloud.  "  And  there  should  be  hospitality,  too, 
where  nature  and  man  live  in  such  an  exquisite  set- 
ting." 

On  coming  nearer  to  the  house  he  was  amazed  to  see 
a  number  of  small  fields  filled  with  California  "poppies." 
Here  was  a  veritable  field  of  the  cloth  of  gold,  glimmering 
and  glinting  in  the  breeze.  In  one  of  these  patches  of 
"harmless  gold"  he  saw,  busily  engaged,  a  tall,  stooped 
man  with  a  beatific  look  upon  his  face.  Thinking  that 
he  was  the  owner,  the  stranger  said,  "  May  I  rest  and  eat 
in  your  house  ?  " 

The  gardener,  whose  face  now  seemed  strangely  vacant, 
loudly  cried,  "  See  my  acres  of  gold !  gold ! "  but  the  laugh 
which  accompanied  this  accorded  illy  with  the  outlook 
of  the  old  man. 

With  pity  in  his  heart,  the  stranger  went  on  to  the 
house,  and  in  answer  to  his  summons  a  kind-looking 
woman  came  to  the  door  and  said,  "Come  in  and  rest; 
this  is  a  'Home'  for  a  tired  soul,  and  all  are  wel 
come." 

The  stranger,  looking  back  at  the  man  in  the  field,  said, 
"  Is  that  the  tired  soul  ?  And  what  glorious  flowers ! " 

"Yes." 

"Ah,  all  should  be  happy  here." 

"  Oh,  he  is  not  of  this  world,  and  always,  always  grows 
his  gold,  the  escholtzias,  or  poppies,  make  his  day  a  joy 
ous  one.  You  know  the  Spaniards  named  them,  'cupos 
de  oro,'  which  means,  cups  of  gold.  They  are  that  to 
him." 

"  May  I  ask  his  name  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know  it." 

"How  beautiful  this  place  is,  yet  the  toiler  makes  me 
sad;  and  doesn't  he  know  his  name?" 


300  The  Mechanic 

And  the  woman,  again  smiling  pleasantly,  replied, 
"No." 

When  the  stranger  was  leaving,  he  said  to  his  hostess, 
"And  who  keeps  him  so  beautifully  housed?" 

"I  once  heard  at  the  bank  in  Los  Angeles  that  Mrs. 
Worth,  Lurgan's  daughter,  pays  all  our  bills." 

THE  END 


THIS   BOOK   IS   DUE   ON   THE   LAST   DATE 
STAMPED   BELOW 


RENEWED   BOOKS  ARE  SUBJECT  TO   IMMEDIATE 
RECALL 


LIBRARY,   UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  DAVIS 

Book  Slip-Series  458 


N9  820627 

PS3525 

Me  Ivor,  A.  A2474 

The  mechanic.  M4 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


